Facing the Golden Road

The stands buzzed with excitement, a stark contrast to the tense atmosphere on the field. Ling Mo looked at the three opponents before him and clenched his fists. A Yellow Spirit Ring lit up—Void Treasury Mimicry: Crystal Inverse Blade Saber.

Gripping the curved blade in his hand, Ling Mo turned into a streak of saber light and instantly passed through Wang Dong, who stood at the front, arriving before Xiao Xiao. He immediately poured Soul Power into the Crystal Inverse Blade Saber.

"Frost Comet!" Ling Mo shouted. A massive burst of icy air erupted from the long blade in his hand. Xiao Xiao, who had been preparing to defend herself nearby, was instantly restrained by ice crystals forming around her body. Even Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, positioned before and behind her, had their movements frozen for a moment.

Having successfully controlled Xiao Xiao, Ling Mo's curved blade floated up and transformed once more, taking the form of a pair of Golden Gauntlets as he began attacking her.

"Floating Waves, Inch Strength: Instant Dust!" As Ling Mo threw his right punch, the air around his fist warped slightly. A shockwave struck Xiao Xiao, sending her stumbling backward. Ling Mo had no intention of going easy on her. Now that he was serious, he bent his punching arm to ensure Xiao Xiao would be taken down, using Instant Dust to close in directly before driving another elbow fiercely into her abdomen.

Targeted by Ling Mo, Xiao Xiao fell to the ground in an instant under that series of relentless attacks and could not rise again. At that moment, Wang Dong finally reacted. Carrying her First Soul Skill, Wing Scythe, she rushed to Ling Mo's side and slashed toward his back.

Ling Mo's Purple Spirit Ring lit up, and Yu Du Chen appeared once more. Using Whisk Step to evade Wang Dong's twin-wing slash, he followed up with Timely Rain Swallow, slipping away through the gap between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. The two sides returned to a standoff.

I really did overestimate them. Having dealt with one opponent, Ling Mo understood that Huo Yuhao was not actually as powerful as he had imagined. Spiritual Detection from the original story had left too deep an impression on him. It could be said that nearly a third of Huo Yuhao's later strength had been built upon this soul skill provided by a Million-Year Spirit Ring. Because of that, Ling Mo had overlooked the possibility that the current three members of the Protagonist Group might have minds that could not keep up with their bodies. And no matter how well Spiritual Detection allowed them to anticipate an enemy's moves, it could not conceal their lack of real combat experience. Having figured that out, Ling Mo shed many of his concerns and launched a forceful attack, intending to eliminate Xiao Xiao, who served as their main controller. Xiao Xiao's successful elimination ultimately proved his judgment correct.

As for Huo Yuhao's group, the sword technique One Flash, which Ling Mo had learned from Yae Sakura in the Stigmata Space by chance, was practically unsolvable for them in their current state. They could not think of any countermeasure at all. Huo Yuhao knew that if Ling Mo launched another attack and successfully took down one more person, they would inevitably lose the final one-on-one battle. He immediately made a decision without hesitation.

Ling Mo looked at the two "good bros" across from him, wondering whether he should give them a more dignified exit, when he saw Huo Yuhao exchange a look with Wang Dong. Wang Dong then quickly rushed over and hugged Huo Yuhao.

"???"

What are you two doing? That move left Ling Mo dumbfounded. But the dazzling golden light bursting from their bodies quickly made him put away his contempt. That light reminded him of something. No way... can they already do that?

The golden light around Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong grew increasingly brilliant. Behind Huo Yuhao, a phantom of a vertical eye emerged within the radiance, carrying a faint purple hue. In contrast, a complete phantom of the Light Goddess Butterfly appeared behind Wang Dong, its magnificent form drawing every eye.

The dazzling golden light reflected in Ling Mo's eyes as countless thoughts raced through his mind. Martial Soul Fusion Skills were one of Douluo Continent's defining features—unique soul skills that could be unleashed when two people's Martial Souls reached a certain degree of compatibility. A Martial Soul Fusion Skill allowed two, or even more, low-level Soul Masters to unleash power far beyond their own realm. It was an extremely powerful ability.

Hah, so it's a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? Ling Mo sighed inwardly. Do you want to win that badly?

Ling Mo had still miscalculated. His memories of the plot were vague, and in the original story, Huo Yuhao had only decided to use his Martial Soul Fusion Skill against Dai Huabin of the White Tiger Duke's household, someone who could practically be called his enemy. This had led Ling Mo to believe that Huo Yuhao would not reveal such a trump card against him. But Ling Mo had still underestimated Huo Yuhao—underestimated his obsession with victory.

Very soon, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Martial Soul Fusion Skill took shape. Watching the Golden Road charge toward him, Ling Mo remained perfectly calm.

Perhaps Ling Mo's movement technique just now had been too stunning, causing the referee to believe that he could evade the attack. Thus, the referee made no move to intervene. And just as the referee expected, Ling Mo indeed had the ability to avoid the Golden Road. In fact, he had more than one way to do so. But Ling Mo had no intention of dodging, because he had suddenly remembered one effect of the Golden Road—Martial Soul Seal.

The Golden Road reached Ling Mo, and the two were about to collide. Only then did the referee realize something was wrong and hurried toward Ling Mo to save him. However, it was already too late. Dazzling golden light enveloped Ling Mo, turning him into a golden statue that glittered beneath the sunlight.

"Huo Yuhao's team wins this match."

As soon as the referee spoke, he immediately carried Ling Mo toward the school infirmary.

That night, after returning to the dormitory, Ling Mo stood by the window and looked up at the star-filled night sky, recalling the sensation of being hit by the Golden Road during the day.

Should I say it's worthy of Finality? After being struck by the Golden Road, I could clearly feel a suppressive force acting on the Divine Key Martial Soul. My connection to the Martial Soul was still there, but I truly couldn't use it. The Herrscher Martial Soul was completely different. I could still clearly sense its existence, and using it posed no problem at all. Even when I activated Herrscher Mode, my Soul Power flowed freely. It seems the Herrscher Martial Soul is far more powerful than I imagined.

Looking at the crescent moon in the sky, Ling Mo suddenly missed home—not only his home from his original world, but also his home from his previous life. One had his birth parents, while the other had the loves of his life... plural?

"Ahhh~~" Ling Mo stretched lazily, then fell backward onto the bed. His breathing gradually slowed...

With the final two days of matches, the Newbie Assessment also reached its conclusion.

Huo Yuhao's team ultimately achieved ten victories in ten matches, becoming the champions of the freshmen assessment. The runners-up, Dai Huabin's group of three, had lost to Huo Yuhao's team in the finals.

Although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had exposed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill during their battle against Ling Mo, the final still ended up becoming a clash between two Martial Soul Fusion Skills. Huo Yuhao's group ultimately claimed victory through the power of the Golden Road.

As for Ling Mo, because he had wanted to test the Golden Road's effects on himself, he had taken the Martial Soul Fusion Skill head-on and been declared defeated by the referee. As a result, his team stopped at the quarterfinals and finished in fifth place.

The awards ceremony also did not differ much from the original story. Huo Yuhao still was not granted the status of a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department. Ling Mo, on the other hand, received that status. After all, he had fought one against three against the champion team, so his core disciple status was only natural.

It was worth mentioning that Ling Mo had not been assigned to the Support Department as he had hoped. Instead, he was placed pending between the Control Department and the Assault Department. The reason was the powerful control and explosive capabilities displayed after his Void Treasury Mimicry during the match against Huo Yuhao's group. Moreover, after learning that Ling Mo wanted to choose the Support Department, Xuan Zi sought him out as well. Thus, left with no choice, Ling Mo was ultimately assigned to Class One of the Control and Assault Departments.

After the awards ceremony, Ling Mo headed to his classroom. It was still the original Class One, but the people in the class were quite different from before. Ling Mo's seat was near the front-middle of the classroom. Other than the fact that it was not by a window, which dissatisfied him somewhat, it was fine.

Once everyone had arrived, the homeroom teacher, Wang Yan, began selecting the class monitors. However, a female student named Wu Feng, dissatisfied that Huo Yuhao was allowed to participate in the election, challenged him. To everyone's surprise, Huo Yuhao accepted.

A moment later, Ling Mo watched the two exchanging blows on the fighting platform and helplessly covered his face. Wu Feng, of all people you could challenge, why did you have to pick the protagonist? Do you think you're me?

Unlike everyone else, who did not think highly of Huo Yuhao's chances, Ling Mo believed Huo Yuhao could win. There was no helping it—Protagonist's Halo was simply that unreasonable. Sure enough, just as Huo Yuhao was about to collapse, he suddenly erupted. His eyes turned a dim gray, and Wu Feng abruptly fell as well. That farce came to an end just like that.

The next day, when vice homeroom teacher Zhou Yi arrived, Class One suffered a harsh blow. Some students led by Dai Huabin were directly expelled from Class One. The reason was that they had questioned Zhou Yi's decision to ignore the election and directly appoint Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong as the class monitors of the Control Department and Assault Department respectively.

Ling Mo could only feel rather helpless about it. Why did they have to provoke her? Did villains really die from talking too much?