The Eye of Life

Night fell over the Star Luo Grand Hotel. Huo Yuhao was unusually staying in his room.

Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, black as ink and radiating an ominous aura.

He hadn't gone to see Ling Luochеn, nor had he gone to Ma Xiaotao's room to "put out the fire." There was something more important to do tonight.

"I seem to smell a familiar scent..."

The old and majestic voice echoed through the Sea of Consciousness. Electrolux's gray figure slowly appeared, and for once, his emotions seemed stirred.

"Yuhao, relax your mind and let me take control of your body."

In the next instant, Huo Yuhao's eyes turned a lifeless gray, and a sacred, imposing aura burst from within him.

"A mere Wraith curse dares to act so brazenly before the Holy Necromancer?"

Electrolux controlled Huo Yuhao's fingers and gently tapped the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife.

"Purify!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a soft sound like snow melting.

The vicious curse that had plagued the Soul Master World for thousands of years was as fragile as paper before Electrolux's Necromancy. It vanished in an instant, revealing the carving knife's original, verdant-green form.

An overwhelmingly powerful life force filled the entire room.

"What a fine treasure..." Electrolux marveled. "Yuhao, if you practiced Necromancy for a while, you'd be able to break a curse of this level yourself. But for now, let's fuse this Life Gold."

Huo Yuhao regained control of his body and nodded solemnly. "Yes, Elder Yi."

In an instant, a cool, gentle current flowed in through the center of his brow, nourishing every cell in his body.

An earth-shaking transformation took place in the Sea of Consciousness.

As this immense life force poured in, his already vast Sea of Consciousness expanded wildly once more. Even more astonishingly, the life force seemed to possess the power of creation. The Ice and Snow Emperors, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and Electrolux—who had previously existed only as consciousness—now formed nearly tangible bodies within the Sea of Consciousness!

"Whoa! I have a body now! Yuhao, you're the best!" The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm excitedly wriggled its chubby body.

The Ice and Snow Emperors were delighted as well. Though their bodies existed only within the Sea of Consciousness, this was still tremendous progress.

Meanwhile, the golden Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead slowly opened. After fusing with the power of Life Gold, the vertical eye turned a deep, emerald green, brimming with vitality and mystery.

The Eye of Life, open!

"This Life Gold can nourish your body and spiritual power, and it can also gradually restore my divine consciousness," Electrolux said with a smile. "From now on, my existence will be equivalent to your third Martial Soul—the Holy Necromancer. It's a special Martial Soul that doesn't require any Soul Rings."

Night passed. When the first rays of morning sunlight spilled into the room, Huo Yuhao slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant, his gaze was as deep as the starry sky. His spiritual power had grown so strong that he had already reached the threshold of a Soul Douluo! The baptism of Life Gold had also brought his physical strength to an inconceivable level.

A complete transformation!

When Huo Yuhao appeared before the girls, they all noticed that something about him seemed different today.

His skin glimmered faintly with a warm sheen, and his aura was even more refined. He was like a piece of jade that had been meticulously carved. Even standing quietly, he radiated an irresistible charm.

"Monitor, did you... get more handsome?" Xiao Xiao asked in a soft voice, blushing.

Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao suspiciously, too. "What were you doing last night? You seem like a completely different person."

Huo Yuhao smiled gently. "Nothing much. I fused with that carving knife and made a little progress."

Everyone: "..."

Another "little" bit of progress? Was his definition of "a little" different from theirs?

The second round of the round-robin tournament was underway at Star Luo Plaza.

Shrek Academy faced Qianling Academy.

When the draw revealed that it would be a team battle, the entire crowd erupted. The girls from Shrek looked a little uneasy, though.

Team battles were the ultimate test of a team's overall strength.

And Shrek Academy's current lineup...

Apart from Huo Yuhao and Jin Nier, who were Soul Ancestors, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were Soul Elders, while Xiao Xiao, Lan Ruoruo, and Lan Susu were all Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters.

In any Soul Master Tournament, that lineup would be considered cannon fodder.

Their opponents, Qianling Academy, were a different story.

Their captain, Shen Ce, had the Thousand-Strike Spear Martial Soul and was a Five-Ring Soul King.

The other six team members were all Four-Ring Soul Ancestors!

In particular, four of them belonged to the same clan and were defensive Soul Masters with the Lingxi Shield Martial Soul. They were among the best defenders in this tournament.

They also had two beautiful control-type Soul Masters: An Lengye, who had the Frost Bear, and Fei Yuyan, who had the Crimson Tiger.

It was a dazzling lineup.

Of course, Huo Yuhao didn't understand why these two Beast Martial Soul users had chosen the control system rather than the Power Attack System.

"Shrek's in trouble this time!"

"The gap between the lineups is huge. Even Huo Yuhao can't carry that many deadweights, can he?"

"Is Shrek still not going to send in their main team?"

The spectators buzzed with discussion. Even Qianling Academy's team members were brimming with confidence.

The match began!

Qianling Academy immediately formed a solid defensive formation. Four Lingxi Shield Soul Masters took the front, linking their enormous shields to form an unbreakable Copper Wall and Iron Bastion.

Shen Ce gathered his strength at the rear, while An Lengye and Fei Yuyan controlled the field.

Yet faced with such a tight formation, Huo Yuhao made no move to attack.

"Stick to the plan. This is training," Huo Yuhao said calmly.

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Huo Yuhao and Jin Nier stood at the back with their arms crossed, watching. In front, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and the Lan Sisters launched a fierce barrage against the shield wall.

Light of the Butterfly Goddess, Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron, Seven Treasures Glazed boosts, Heaven's Net...

Soul Skills filled the air. Their attacks were spectacular, but when they struck the Lingxi Shields, they only raised ripples, unable to break through.

After five whole minutes, the people from Qianling Academy were completely baffled.

What were they doing? Trying to tickle us?

"That's about enough." Huo Yuhao glanced at the girls, who were breathing a little heavily, and nodded. "Warm-up's over. Time to get to work. Nier, those four turtle shells are yours."

"Got it!" Jin Nier had been waiting impatiently for a while.

She let out a sharp cry, her dazzling golden hair flying as the Golden Dragon Martial Soul possessed her.

"Break for this young lady!"

Jin Nier shot forward like lightning. She used no fancy moves, just a straight punch!

The ancestor of strength, the Golden Dragon!

First Soul Skill: Golden Dragon Body.

Second Soul Skill: Dragon's Strength.

Third Soul Skill: Golden Dragon Fist.

Fourth Soul Skill: Golden Dragon Explosion!

"BOOM!!!"

A thunderous crash rang out.

The Lingxi Shield wall, said to be enough to give even Spirit Kings a headache, shattered like glass beneath Jin Nier's punch!

The four Lingxi Shield Soul Masters spat out blood in unison, flew backward, and fell unconscious on the spot.

One punch to break four shields!

The entire arena fell silent.

What the hell was this monstrous girl?!

She'd actually unleashed four Soul Skills at once, stacking their power to deliver a punch comparable to a Spirit Emperor's!

At the same time, Huo Yuhao made his move.

A flash of light, and Dawn's Edge appeared in his hand.

He didn't use his Martial Soul, relying only on his physical strength and the boost from his Psychic Power.

"Break!"

Huo Yuhao darted forward like a phantom and swept his greatsword across.

Before Shen Ce could throw the Thousand-Strike Spear he'd been charging up, Huo Yuhao smacked him into the ground with a single blow. Shen Ce was embedded in the floor so deeply that no one could pry him loose.

As for An Lengye and Fei Yuyan, they hadn't even realized what was happening before Huo Yuhao knocked them out of the arena.

The battle was over.

From the moment Huo Yuhao and Jin Nier entered the fray to the end of the battle, less than ten seconds had passed.

The spectators gaped, their jaws practically on the floor.

Had that just been... training?

So those five minutes really had been them going easy on their opponents!

Shen Ce struggled out of the crater and looked at the calm young man holding a greatsword. His heart was filled with bitterness.

He'd thought he had a chance to win against this unevenly matched Shrek Team.

The chance to make a name for himself had been right before his eyes.

Only now did he understand how badly he'd been mistaken.

What kind of team was this? It was obviously two max-level experts taking five extras along to clear a dungeon.

Even if those five were only there to make up the numbers, Huo Yuhao and Jin Nier alone were monsters enough to sweep all before them!

Shrek was terrifying!