She Was Like a War Goddess

"Bella will only use 1% of her strength. Cadet Youlan, fight with everything you have."

In the testing grounds, Bella stood where she was without taking flight, quietly watching Youlan as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

Even Jing Hongchen could not help growing curious. Aside from Huo Yuhao, he had never seen what kind of strength Lu Xueling and the two girls he had brought possessed. It seemed he would finally get to witness one of them today.

But Lu Xueling had just said that Bella would only use 1% of her strength?

Xu Tianran interlaced his fingers and focused with utmost seriousness.

Bella simply uttered three words. "Begin."

With a low growl, Youlan drew her Katana and burst forward like a cheetah, leaping ahead in an instant. It looked as though she were flying just above the ground.

Clang—!!

Youlan's Katana struck Bella's arm with perfect accuracy, yet... it did not even leave a white mark!

Her pupils contracted sharply. She quickly pulled away, and fortunately, Bella did not pursue her.

"Don't be so surprised." Bella sneered. "You're not worthy of making me counterattack."

"That's amazing!!" A little blue-haired head suddenly poked out beside Lu Xueling.

Lu Xueling lowered his head in surprise. "Huo Yuhao? Why aren't you resting in your dormitory? What are you doing here?"

Thanks to his connection with Lu Xueling, Huo Yuhao was allowed to enter any location except those explicitly forbidden.

Huo Yuhao stared unblinkingly at the testing grounds. "Um... it's not dark yet. I heard that Mr. Lu made another set of armor, so I got curious."

Lu Xueling did not say anything more. If little Yuhao wanted to watch, then he could watch.

He did not think much of it. In truth, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had sensed an immensely powerful concentration of fortune and destiny energy in this area, which was why he had guided Huo Yuhao here.

"Brother Sky Dream, is that blonde girl the one you mentioned?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm nodded excitedly. "Mm-hm, that's her! Little Yuhao, I discovered that this little girl has an enormous power of destiny within her. Strange... logically speaking, from this far away, it shouldn't have been easy for me to notice it."

The silkworm's gaze shifted to the purple triangular object silently floating in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, suspecting that it might be responsible.

"Honkai Energy... it really is terrifying..."

Even Sky Dream Ice Silkworm began to feel that Soul Power was somewhat weak and useless.

In the arena, faced with Bella's provocation, Youlan clicked her tongue and charged to Bella's side again. The light on her chest brightened once more, yet she showed no sign of weakness as she swung, leaped, and slashed!

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

Youlan slashed Bella several times in succession, but Bella remained standing in place like an unharmed dragon.

The researchers recording the readings were stunned by the data displayed on their equipment. "Could this little girl be a humanoid soul beast?!!"

When other Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings wore the armor, they could at most move three times. Yet a three-ring Soul Elder could use it freely and slash so smoothly without stopping at all.

A humanoid soul beast? That description would fit the one facing Youlan better. This was what Jing Hongchen and Xu Tianran thought.

The Crimson Armor guaranteed an attack equivalent to a Soul Sage with every slash, yet Bella had taken so many strikes without budging. Her defenses had not even been breached.

At Youlan's level of attack strength and frequency, even a Soul Douluo should have been forced back several steps, right? Not to mention that Bella had not fought back once. It looked as though she had been blocking everything with her physical body alone.

This was what a true humanoid Fierce Beast was like!!

Seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Lu Xueling called out, "Youlan, use Pulse Armor Crimson's ultimate skill, Amaterasu."

After retreating once more, Youlan was now breathing heavily. Naturally, she had heard Lu Xueling's shout. Her arms tightened around the Katana again, her calves bent slightly backward, and the Honkai Energy core in her chest began operating once more. She poured nearly all her remaining Honkai Energy into the pitch-black Katana, whose blade gradually began to shine with a dazzling white light!

"Hah—!!"

A freezing gleam erupted in an instant. Before everyone's horrified eyes, Youlan swung out a white blade of light ten meters wide. This time, the spatial disturbance reported by the testing equipment was no longer mild, but intense!

The brilliant blade light nearly blinded Huo Yuhao, who was watching with his Spiritual Eye open. He hurriedly covered his eyes, though a few tears still leaked out.

Bella's expression finally changed slightly as she began to counterattack.

Yet all she did was open her mouth slightly and exhale an icy breath. The moment the Amaterasu blade light touched the breath, its forward momentum immediately slowed by more than half. Clear sounds of freezing and shattering spread throughout the arena.

Crack... crack...

In the end, the blade light and Bella's breath annihilated each other simultaneously. Cold air scattered everywhere, while the ice fragments left in the center of the grounds and the half-meter-deep gash carved into the floor by the aftermath served as reminders to everyone present.

Huo Yuhao was finally able to open his eyes. Trembling, he said, "W-what happened? S-so cold..."

Affected by the lingering chill, the researchers could not help shivering as one of them reported in a trembling voice, "H-Hall Master... the reading has reached the level of an eighty-second-rank Soul Douluo!"

Youlan was practically like a war goddess!

Others struggled to even perform a few basic attacks while wearing Crimson, but not only could she move smoothly, she had even unleashed its ultimate move!

Only after unleashing Amaterasu did Youlan finally collapse from exhaustion. The Crimson Armor automatically disengaged and scattered across the ground.

Seeing this, Lu Xueling lightly waved his hand. A Spatial Ripple stirred, and he recalled the armor. "Hall Master, I think you can make the announcement now."

Jing Hongchen took a deep breath. "Pass down my orders. Preserve all the data on Pulse Armor Crimson properly, and take Cadet Youlan away to rest. Also, from this moment onward, she is a core disciple of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

"Yes!"

Xu Tianran began applauding again, filled with admiration. "Mr. Lu, I no longer have the slightest doubt about the Red Dust Hall Master's attitude toward you. To create such an extraordinary object... although its requirements are somewhat demanding, once put to use, it is truly more than a hundred times more powerful than Soul Tools."

A three-ring Soul Elder wearing Valkyrie Armor could unleash the attack strength of a Soul Douluo with a single slash. Was there any combat Soul Tool in the world today that could accomplish such a thing?

"On behalf of the Sun Moon Imperial Family, I would also like to participate in this project. What do you think, Mr. Lu?"

As Lu Xueling replenished the Honkai Energy consumed by Crimson, he replied, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, let me be blunt. If you want to participate as well, then you must abide by the conditions I set with the Red Dust Hall Master. All research progress regarding Valkyrie Armor, including who gets to use the final products, can only be decided by me."

Xu Tianran's eyes narrowed slightly. His fingers tapped the armrest of his wheelchair. "Then please allow me to return and discuss it with my father and the others."

"I await your answer at any time. Forgive me for not seeing you out."

Lu Xueling did not turn around. He merely silently watched Youlan, who looked utterly weak in the arena.

"Huo Yuhao."

Little Yuhao snapped back to his senses. He had been blinded by the blade light earlier and had not seen anything clearly, so he was still dazed.

"You're responsible for taking Youlan back to the dormitory building."

"Huh?" Huo Yuhao pointed at himself, then looked back at Youlan. "Me? Take her back to her dormitory?"