A Small Cheat Isn't Really Cheating

Chapter: A Small Opening Is Not Really an Opening

The border defense forces of both nations stationed near the Mingdou Mountain Range were alerted by the monitoring Soul Tools. The troops led by Duke White Tiger and the Sun Moon eastern border defense forces immediately stood at the ready, gazing at the source of that terrifying soul power in the sky.

Next, a rain of black blood fell, and the air was instantly filled with a pungent stench. They watched as the person who had been pursued just a moment ago was reduced to fragments of flesh and blood.

At the same time, the Sun Moon troops noticed someone falling into the forest.

"Go take a look," the team leader said in a low voice to several soldiers. "If there are any dangerous movements, eliminate them immediately."

Three Soul Ancestor soldiers received the order and left. The massive figure in the sky also flickered and landed within the borders of Star Luo, where people immediately went up to negotiate. The old man who had just landed seemed to still be carrying quite a bit of anger; vaguely, the Sun Moon patrol leader only heard a few fragmented keywords, among which included "Shrek Inspection Team."

"Is that the organization that keeps interfering in the affairs of the three nations?" The leader stroked his chin. "Then the person who just fell into the forest is likely related to Shrek as well. I must handle this matter well; perhaps I can perform a great service."

While the Shrek team suffered heavy losses, the selection tournament for the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy had just concluded.

Huo Yuhao showed everyone the true power of combining a soul master and a soul engineer, while Chi Qiu and Wang Dong used the sheer ferocity of soul masters to beat all their competitors into submission.

"Regardless of the results of this tournament, we'll be able to catch those people off guard in the next one." When the teacher in charge of the pre-selection called the selected team members to gather, Meng Hongchen's eyes were shining. "After all, we have five people with excellent soul master levels in this reserve team!"

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was slightly surprised. "Could it be that Brother Xiao and Senior Sister Meng are also formidable in soul master combat?"

He naturally knew that these two were the top two geniuses of the academy, but due to the academy's environment, he subconsciously viewed the Hongchen siblings as geniuses who were formidable in the field of soul tools. Therefore, Meng Hongchen's statement caught Huo Yuhao off guard.

"That goes without saying. My title as the number one genius is comprehensive." Xiao Hongchen gave his shoulder a heavy pat. "There isn't much time left before the tournament; we should show the others what we're made of and practice our coordination, right, Yuhao?"

"Mm." Huo Yuhao nodded, but seeing that Xiao Hongchen seemed to have more to say, he looked back with an inquisitive gaze.

"Let's practice in groups." Xiao Hongchen coughed twice as if to cover something up. "After all, with a super genius like me, I only need one teammate. Yuhao, come over here."

Meng Hongchen raised an eyebrow. "Brother, are you looking down on the rest of us?"

The other two reserve team members also put on indignant expressions, though there was a hint of playfulness in them.

"That's not it. Everyone here is an elite selected by the academy, it's just that my pairing with Yuhao is a cut above." Xiao Hongchen laughed heartlessly.

On the other side, Chi Qiu and Wang Dong both had knowing expressions when they heard Xiao Hongchen pick Huo Yuhao.

"He's too cunning," Wang Dong complained. "I just don't know what his ability is, but as long as it isn't a support type without combat power, any other type paired with Brother Huo won't be weak."

"Remember to protect your head with spiritual power later," Chi Qiu reminded her practically.

"He wouldn't really go hard on us, would he? Oh... at least Miss Qiu, you won't be on the receiving end of his ruthlessness."

As they spoke, the two sides had already separated. Xiao Hongchen and Huo Yuhao were in one group, while the other five were led by Meng Hongchen.

"Let's not let my brother, that arrogant freak, look down on us!" Meng Hongchen shouted, and the others nodded in response.

On Xiao Hongchen's side, he looked smilingly at Huo Yuhao, who was still half a head shorter than him. "Later, give me that soul skill link of yours, and you won't need to make a move after that."

"My first soul skill is called Spiritual Detection Sharing," Huo Yuhao patiently corrected him. "Brother Xiao, it seems that as long as you have this skill, you have the confidence to win completely, right?"

"Of course." A smile of triumph appeared on Xiao Hongchen's face. "Hmph, even if you and Meng were a pair and I took the other four, Meng would still win one-on-five... it would just be slower than with me. So, I'm taking the initiative while Meng doesn't understand your abilities yet. Besides, I'm the captain."

Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly, golden light swirling in the depths of his eyes as Spiritual Detection Sharing was activated silently. "Then let me see Brother Xiao's ability to end the match."

Not far away, Meng Hongchen asked loudly, "Well, are you two ready? Brother, make sure you protect Junior Brother Yuhao."

Xiao Hongchen tossed his head back, thinking he looked cool. "Alright, you guys start! If you can touch a single hair on Yuhao, count it as my loss."

Before the words had even faded, Chi Qiu took the lead, her first and second soul rings lighting up simultaneously as she charged at Huo Yuhao at full speed.

When the five of them were exchanging information earlier, she and Wang Dong had tacitly agreed not to reveal Huo Yuhao's first soul skill, only mentioning that his spiritual abilities were very strong. Soul skills were a soul master's secret, and they had to wait until the person was willing to share them before they could be revealed. Even though they were familiar with Huo Yuhao, they still had to ask for his opinion.

But since they were to engage in combat, her and Wang Dong's primary target was naturally Huo Yuhao.

"It seems your two friends know your importance."

Xiao Hongchen laughed loudly, and four soul rings flew out from his body. He had been at level fifty for a while, but he hadn't hunted for his fifth soul ring yet; he planned to obtain it before the tournament to officially become a Soul King. Meng Hongchen's cultivation was similar to his.

At this moment, the four soul rings around him lit up one after another, then shone with brilliant light. Countless gold elements rose from around him, forming countless soul tools at a dazzling speed. This series of processes left even Huo Yuhao stunned.

Only by keeping Spiritual Detection Sharing active could he see how Xiao Hongchen assembled them, while the five people opposite them probably hadn't even seen what was happening.

"So that's how it is," Huo Yuhao sighed. "Brother Xiao, the two of us working together really can clear the field! In fact, I can make it even easier for you."

"Oh?" Xiao Hongchen said while charging his energy. "What other skills do you have?"

Huo Yuhao didn't answer, simply mobilizing all his spiritual power and focusing on marking targets within the Spiritual Detection Sharing.

Normally, those linked to Spiritual Detection Sharing could obtain massive amounts of battlefield information, but they still had to make their own combat judgments, which occupied a portion of their cognitive space.

However, at this moment, Huo Yuhao directly marked the opponents' movement paths in the shared vision and thoughtfully provided Xiao Hongchen with several optimal trajectories for firing his soul tools.

Xiao Hongchen didn't even need to use his brain; he could just provide fire suppression.

"Good!" Xiao Hongchen waved his hand briskly, and countless soul tools immediately lined up beside him, possessing a certain air of a commander. However, the true commander was actually at his side.

Chi Qiu waved her hand, and the Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her grasp. At the same time, her third soul ring suddenly lit up, and a golden dragon head instantly condensed, charging straight at Huo Yuhao. In this situation, if they didn't take out Huo Yuhao, there was no way they could withstand Xiao Hongchen's hundreds of cannons.

Following the golden dragon head was Wang Dong's Light of the Butterfly Goddess; their goals were unified at this moment. As soon as the Light of the Butterfly Goddess was released, Wang Dong crouched down and glided over at high speed, her level five Soul Guidance Thruster activated, and her third soul ring flashing brightly.

But Huo Yuhao didn't even need to communicate verbally with Xiao Hongchen; he directly marked the flight paths of Wang Dong's two soul skills in the shared vision.

"Fire!" Xiao Hongchen raised an arm and shouted in a rather chuunibyou manner. The next moment, the five people on the other side felt as if hundreds of small suns had lit up before their eyes. The energy within these small suns poured out, clearly intending to clear the field immediately.

Not only were there shells meant to drive the others off the field, but there were also Soul Guidance Rays to block all offensive soul skills. The tiny Blue Scale Feather Blades shot by Wang Dong during her high-speed flight were actually blocked one by one by Xiao Hongchen using targeted rays.

The Light of the Butterfly Goddess and the Golden Dragon head were instantly annihilated in the intense Soul Guidance Ray. Even at the same cultivation level, resisting Xiao Hongchen's attack would be very difficult, let alone when Chi Qiu and Wang Dong were only at the three-ring level.

On the other side, Meng Hongchen and the other two immediately activated their Soul Guidance Barriers. According to Meng Hongchen's prediction, three barriers would be enough to resolve the power of her brother's usual attack. However, when the third barrier was broken through, her eyes widened. The projectile clearly still had considerable power left! When did her brother become so strong?

She had no choice but to raise her weapon to resist, and simultaneously activate the next defensive Soul Tool on her body.

Even so, the three of them were still pushed back quite a bit by the residual power of the projectile.

When the full might of the bombardment finally dissipated, she looked down and saw that her feet had just been pushed out of the designated area of the Soul Fighting ring. It was so precise, as if it had been calculated.

"Brother," she said in disbelief, "did you use some outside factors?"

Without understanding Huo Yuhao, she could only attribute this one-sided situation to Xiao Hongchen using some sort of trick.

Her good brother, however, smiled proudly, slinging an arm around Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "How can you slander me out of thin air? I used in-ring factors, perfectly legitimate and compliant. Right, Yuhao?"