King of the Melee, Sea God's Needle

Early morning, the mist was thick and dim.

Inside the Shrek Soul Fighting Arena, the atmosphere was heavy. All the core disciples of the outer courtyard gathered here, waiting for the upcoming assessment.

As soon as Huo Yuhao entered the arena, he felt two gazes filled with terror and evasion.

Not far away, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu looked pale, with heavy dark circles under their eyes, clearly having not slept all night.

They had received news last night that several bloody sacks had been dumped by the academy directly at the front gate of the Duke White Tiger mansion.

Those were the corpses of the assassins who had attacked Huo Yuhao. Although the academy had not stated it explicitly and lacked conclusive evidence to press charges, this naked warning struck Dai Huabin's heart like a heavy hammer.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's calm gaze at this moment, he felt a chill run down his spine, wishing only to avoid him at all costs.

Aside from those two, Huo Yuhao also saw several familiar faces—the twin stars of the outer courtyard, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, as well as the most beautiful girl of the outer courtyard, Jiang Nannan.

Just as everyone was whispering, a scent of wine drifted over.

"Hic—everyone's here, right?"

Elder Xuan walked in unsteadily, clutching a chicken leg in one hand and a wine gourd in the other. Following behind him was a slender young girl.

The girl had a waterfall of golden hair and skin as white as snow; her stunning face carried an innate sense of arrogance and coldness.

In her hand, she held a golden spear with sharp points at both ends, and her entire presence was like a drawn sword, sharp and piercing.

Everyone's eyes gathered on her at once. Since when did the outer courtyard have such a peerless beauty?

Her appearance seemed to make her the focal point of the entire arena, causing even Jiang Nannan to be overshadowed.

Huo Yuhao's pupils constricted.

This aura... it was too familiar! It was the bond of fate, the scent belonging to the core circle of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Ni? Huo Yuhao's heart surged with stormy waves. How could she have transformed into human form? And why did she come to Shrek years ahead of schedule?

Despite the questions in his heart, Huo Yuhao remained composed on the surface.

Elder Xuan took a bite of his chicken leg and said indistinctly, "Little ones, today's assessment is very simple. A mass brawl. Right here in this soul fighting arena, you can fight however you like; there are no rules. Surrendering or being rescued by me counts as elimination. The last seven people remaining will be the winners."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire arena was in an uproar.

These rules were simply crude and brutal to the extreme!

"Start!"

Before anyone could react, Elder Xuan gave the order, and his figure instantly vanished from the high platform.

BOOM—!

The soul fighting arena exploded into chaos.

Huo Yuhao reacted extremely quickly, stepping firmly on the ground as his figure stood as steady as Mount Tai. Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were already accustomed to his rhythm and moved close to him instantly. Not far away, the sisters Lan Ruoruo and Lan Susu exchanged a glance and charged toward Huo Yuhao without hesitation.

A five-person squad was formed in an instant.

As for the other two core disciples of Class One, Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sicheng, their luck was not as good, and they were immediately scattered by the crowd.

"I'll let you taste the big stuff!"

A roar rang out, and countless metal tubes instantly sprouted from He Caitou's body, making him look like a hedgehog.

Following that, a violent roaring sound echoed throughout the arena, and soul guidance rays poured out like a torrential rain.

This mobile artillery platform didn't care about friend or foe, conducting indiscriminate fire coverage.

The unlucky Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sicheng bore the brunt of it, and before they could even release their soul skills, they were blasted away and eliminated.

However, He Caitou's move, which drew maximum aggro, also provoked public anger.

"Noisy!"

The golden-haired girl let out a cold snort, her figure turning into a bolt of golden lightning as she instantly passed through the dense web of fire. With a flick of the Golden Dragon Spear in her hand, He Caitou's massive body was actually tossed away like a ragdoll, crashing heavily outside the arena.

One-hit kill!

The entire arena gasped. This girl, who didn't look very old, was already a four-ring Soul Ancestor.

Huo Yuhao's gaze sharpened. Since the chaotic battle had begun, it was time to clear the field!

"Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, guard the flanks. Ruoruo, Susu, control the field!"

Huo Yuhao gave the order calmly, his presence like a stabilizing needle as he led the four girls to charge through the chaotic crowd.

As fate would have it, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu ran right into his path.

"Fight for it!" Seeing that he couldn't escape, Dai Huabin roared and prepared to embrace Zhu Lu to execute their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"In front of me, you have no chance."

Huo Yuhao's cold voice exploded in their ears, and his Soul Shock was activated instantly, causing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu to crash mentally.

In that very instant, Huo Yuhao had already arrived.

Bang! Bang!

Two kicks flew out, clean and decisive.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu didn't even have time to scream before they flew out of the arena, landing face-first in the dirt.

Following that, Huang Chutian, Wu Feng... one core disciple after another crumbled before Huo Yuhao like clay chickens and pottery dogs, collapsing at the slightest touch.

At this moment, the situation on the field gradually became clear.

The trio formed by Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan had also cleared out quite a few small fry, finally coming face-to-face with that Golden Dragon Girl.

Three Soul Ancestors surrounding one person—they had assumed it was a guaranteed victory.

However, the long spear in the blonde girl's hand moved like a dragon, sweeping wide and closing in, actually holding her own against the three of them without falling behind!

That terrifying strength forced Xu Sanshi to defend with all his might, and Bei Bei's thunder was even shattered by a single strike of her spear.

"Such powerful strength, is this the Golden Dragon Martial Soul?" A flash of brilliance shone in Huo Yuhao's eyes.

Since he knew she was the Lucky Beast in human form, she was one of their own.

"Move!"

Huo Yuhao led his team, piercing into the battle like a sharp blade.

"Ruoruo, Susu!"

The Lan sisters understood instantly, their hair dancing as they activated their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Heavenly Net, instantly trapping the agile Jiang Nannan.

"Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong!"

The Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron slammed down with a roar, followed closely by the Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

Isolated and without support, Jiang Nannan was eliminated in an instant. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was already standing before Bei Bei.

"Huo Yuhao, I didn't expect it to be you in the end." Bei Bei gave a bitter smile, his eyes surging with fighting spirit. "Then let me see just how strong you really are!"

"Roar—"

Thunderous light erupted from Bei Bei's body as he pushed his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul to the limit, even burning a trace of his bloodline power, causing his Martial Soul to show faint signs of transforming into a Bright Sacred Dragon.

This was his trump card!

However, Huo Yuhao merely raised his right hand slowly, and the aura of Ultimate Ice instantly froze the lightning elements in the air.

Empress Palm: Great Cold No Snow!

The giant palm of ice collided fiercely with the thunderous dragon.

There was no suspense; that seemingly violent thunder was instantly silenced in the face of Ultimate Ice.

Huo Yuhao did not retreat a single step, while Bei Bei was struck as if by lightning, sent flying backward until Elder Xuan caught him.

On the other side, having lost the support of Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi faced the Golden Dragon Girl's fury alone.

"Get off the field!"

The blonde girl let out a sharp cry, and the Golden Dragon Spear, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, slammed heavily against the Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield.

Xu Sanshi, known for having the strongest defense, spat out a mouthful of blood, sent flying off the field along with his shield.

With this, the battle ended.

Huo Yuhao stood with his hands behind his back, with Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, the Lan sisters, the Golden Dragon Girl not far away, and Ning Tian gasping for breath in the corner—exactly seven people.

Ning Tian was a survivor; when Huo Yuhao's team swept the field, she decisively gave up resistance and instead cast the light of her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to buff Huo Yuhao and the others.

Seeing that she was a support type and had proactively shown goodwill, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao did not attack her.

But looking at the seven "little ones" standing on the field, Elder Xuan looked as if he was about to pull his messy hair bald.

Awkward, capital-letter awkward!