The Victory That Left No Doubts

The Victory That Left No Doubts

The moment they saw Huo Yuhao charge straight into the web of cannon fire, many of the students watching held their breath.

"That junior's going to take a Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannon head-on?"

"That's way too reckless! This is only the preliminaries. It'd be a disaster if he got hurt."

"Hey, why are you worrying about him? You think a genius like that would risk his life for nothing? I bet he's got a good Defensive Soul Tool."

"But defending against a Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannon would drain all that kid's Soul Power, wouldn't it?"

Even Meng Hongchen, who had just taken her seat, furrowed her brow slightly. "Brother, will junior Huo be all right?"

Xiao Hongchen had already used Spiritual Detection Sharing, and he waved his sister off with complete confidence. "It's nothing. Just watch."

He hadn't even finished speaking when everyone saw a blue-green figure flash out of the smoke and charge straight toward Xu Feng!

The instant he rushed in, Huo Yuhao activated Ice Emperor's Protection. He had brought several Soul Guidance Barriers, but they were all Level 3 at most. He wasn't going to use them to block a Level 5 Soul Guidance Cannon.

As soon as Xu Feng fired his cannons, Spiritual Detection Sharing had already pinpointed where they would explode, and Huo Yuhao had planned his route. Ice Emperor's Protection was there to guard against any unexpected mishaps and to shield him from the explosions' heat and shrapnel.

Having easily charged through the barrage, Huo Yuhao now had tiny shards of ice glittering on his arms. He raised his right hand, and the Spirit Slashing Blade came down toward Xu Feng's head.

Xu Feng didn't hesitate either. He slapped his chest, instantly activating a Level 5 Soul Tool Shield. A soft blue light enveloped him, and the Spirit Slashing Blade seemed to lose its force against it.

It was a water-attribute Soul Tool Shield. Unlike ordinary defensive Soul Tools, water elements excelled at overcoming force with softness. A close-combat Soul Engineer facing a defensive Soul Tool of this attribute really could find it tricky.

But Huo Yuhao had anticipated this. He had conducted a detailed investigation, after all, and knew his opponent had a water-attribute Martial Soul.

A chill swept over him as he poured all his Ultimate Ice Soul Power into the Spirit Slashing Blade.

Xu Feng tried to use the opening to put some distance between them and return to the position where he excelled in combat. But Huo Yuhao immediately activated the Soul Guidance Thruster on his body and stuck close to his opponent. Even though it was a Level 3 thruster against a Level 5 one, the two still managed to open up some distance between them—but nowhere near enough for Xu Feng to blanket the area with cannon fire without hitting himself.

He gritted his teeth, raised a Soul Guidance Gun, and fired straight at the Huo Yuhao pursuing him. But just as he pulled the trigger, his vision blurred, and the shot went wide.

Huo Yuhao seemed to know he would miss. He charged straight up to Xu Feng without dodging, swinging the Spirit Slashing Blade directly at the blue Soul Tool Shield.

That kid never learned! Xu Feng thought. He still believed the shield would neutralize the blow. But then, to his horror, the moment the frosty blue-green blade touched it, ice spread from the point of contact across the shield.

Water-attribute Martial Souls feared two things: ice first, electricity second.

Within seconds, his entire shield had frozen into a ball of ice.

A layer of gleaming ice covered both Huo Yuhao's hands as Ice Empress's Pincer activated. He put more force into the hand gripping his blade, and the Spirit Slashing Blade smashed straight through the ice ball, with enough strength left to slash down at Xu Feng.

"Vmmm—"

A soft golden-red light blocked the blow. The referee, holding a Defensive Soul Tool, announced, "Huo Yuhao of Zone B wins."

Clean and decisive, Huo Yuhao had won in less than five minutes. Most of the students couldn't even follow how smoothly he had fought.

At the very edge of the arena, Jing Hongchen, who had been quietly observing the whole time, wore a satisfied smile.

"He switched Martial Souls three times in a short period. Excellent combat instincts. He also made use of the delayed charging property of his Level 3 Soul Tool. He was thoroughly prepared, and his thinking was clear. The Sun Moon Empire is truly blessed."

After Huo Yuhao made contact with his opponent's water shield, he had immediately switched to the Ice Emperor Martial Soul and infused the Spirit Slashing Blade with ice Soul Power. Then he switched back to the Spirit Eye Martial Soul and used Spiritual Interference to throw off Xu Feng's aim. Though he was using the Spirit Eye at that point, the blade still contained Ultimate Ice, allowing him to freeze the shield instantly.

At the decisive moment, he activated the Ice Emperor Martial Soul once more, using the powerful offensive skill Ice Empress's Pincer to strengthen his hands. In an instant, the Spirit Slashing Blade's power surpassed its rank.

Rather than a competition, it was more like a demonstration of Huo Yuhao's abilities. He could have ended the match with Soul Shock, but he had chosen to use all his abilities to support his Soul Tools, then finish the fight with one.

How could Jing Hongchen not understand what he was thinking? This flashy fighting style practically had the words "Please train me" written all over it.

"Heh, the old man will grant your wish. Hmm... And it looks like the students' practical combat classes need improvement, too."

Inside the arena, Huo Yuhao gave Xu Feng a slight bow. "Sorry, senior. The match ended so quickly in part because you didn't know what I could do."

Xu Feng just smiled and waved a hand. "It's fine, junior. You're strong. Even if I'd known, I couldn't have held out much longer. Your Ice Martial Soul is incredibly powerful, while mine can only serve as an accessory to my Soul Tools. It's practically useless to me on its own... So losing isn't surprising."

Huo Yuhao smiled and didn't try to be modest. He was thrilled by the victory. It was the culmination of all the abilities he had developed lately.

Whether it was the Ice Emperor Martial Soul, which he had used in real combat for the first time; the combat experience he'd built up through hand-to-hand sparring; or what he had learned and understood about Soul Tools over the past two months, every one of them had played a key role in this victory.

The students in the stands fell into discussion as well.

"Twin Martial Souls? That has to be Twin Martial Souls!"

"Honestly, I've only ever seen Twin Martial Souls in the protagonists of cheap street novels..."

"It's only our Sun Moon Empire that doesn't have any. There are quite a few over in the Douluo Three Kingdoms."

"Come on, you've just seen one right here in the Sun Moon Empire!"

"Even if I had Twin Martial Souls, I'm not sure I could do that well."

"Those Soul Tools he used were all Level 3, right? Is he already a Level 3 Soul Master?"

"Level 3... How old is that junior?"

"Hey." Wang Dong propped her chin on her hand and looked at Chi Qiu. "If Twin Martial Souls are that popular, maybe I'll show off my hammer later. I could get a lot of fans, too."

"By all means, give it a try." There seemed to be a hint of amusement in Chi Qiu's voice.

"Forget it." Wang Dong guiltily looked away. She didn't dare show off her Clear Sky Hammer.

"Zone B, Wang Dong," the referee called.

"Speak of the devil." Wang Dong stood and tugged at her hem, then fixed her hair. She looked every bit as cocky as before. "Hmph, they're not strong enough to make me use my hammer. One Martial Soul will be all I need to beat them."

Wang Dong's opponent wasn't very strong, just a Level 3 Soul Engineer. In a competition between people of the same rank, Soul Engineers were theoretically stronger than Soul Masters, but Wang Dong was wearing a Level 5 Soul Guidance Thruster. She might as well have been wearing a Soul Engineer's skin.

When Huo Yuhao returned to the stands, he worried that the opponent's offensive Soul Tools might give Wang Dong a headache. But before the other contestant could even fire a weapon, Wang Dong had already finished them off with two Soul Skills.

Watching the gorgeous blue-and-pink figure in the arena, Meng Hongchen murmured to herself, "I wish she were a boy..."

Xiao Hongchen glanced at his sister with concern. But he was also keeping an eye on the match. He noticed that Wang Dong had used that pair of Soul Guidance Thrusters.

Chi Qiu was up soon after Wang Dong finished her match. She entered the arena carrying two Level 3 Soul Tool Shields, both made by Huo Yuhao himself. When he'd asked whether she needed an offensive Soul Tool, Chi Qiu had said the Golden Dragon Spear was all she needed.

Even so, Huo Yuhao was worried his Auspicious Beast might get hurt, so he'd fitted her with two defensive Soul Tools.

Chi Qiu's opponent was a Level 4 close-combat Soul Engineer. He was unlucky to be matched against her. When it came to a clash of strength, ordinary Level 4 Soul Tools were nowhere near a match for the Golden Dragon Spear.

Still, the Soul Tools Huo Yuhao had made came in handy. Though her opponent was a close-combat Soul Engineer, he was still equipped with a Soul Ray Gun. Chi Qiu wasn't familiar with the weapon and failed to dodge in time, but fortunately Huo Yuhao had given her trigger-activated Soul Tools.

At that moment, Huo Yuhao was so nervous he almost used Spiritual Detection Sharing to help Chi Qiu. But he quickly gave up the idea. Cheating wasn't right, no matter what. He trusted Qiu'er to win.

While the Sun Moon Empire's preliminary selection was in full swing, Shrek Academy's selection had already finished. Since they had used a free-for-all format, their selection had gone much faster than the Sun Moon Empire's one-on-one matches.

Now, the seven reserve team members who had distinguished themselves in the selection were on their way out of Shrek City alongside the main team members, Wang Yan, and Xuan Zi, heading for the Mingdou Mountain Range.