Final Preparations

Final Preparations

Under the organization of Xiao Hongchen, the reserve team held several more sparring matches.

The format Xiao Hongchen devised was quite unique: everyone took turns partnering with Huo Yuhao. Defeating the remaining five people, or protecting Huo Yuhao from being threatened with elimination within the span of one incense stick, would count as a victory.

Upon hearing this format, Huo Yuhao asked helplessly, "Brother Xiao, what is your plan here?"

"To let everyone get properly familiar with your skills," Xiao Hongchen said. "Haven't you figured it out yet? You are already the main controller of the reserve team. As a team of soul masters, we actually lack control and support types; this is limited by the quality of everyone's martial souls. Excellent control and support types often need to rely on powerful martial souls."

"I see." Huo Yuhao expressed his understanding. He was actually familiar with this kind of tactic. Back during the Shrek freshman assessment, since there were no other control or support types in his team, Chi Qiu and Wang Dong had built their strategy strictly around him, so Huo Yuhao was well-versed in this style of play.

The first to try it out was naturally Meng Hongchen. In addition to activating Spiritual Detection Sharing, Huo Yuhao also used his Ultimate Ice to significantly enhance the ice attribute within Meng Hongchen's martial soul.

Meng Hongchen had a flash of inspiration, and her fourth soul ring lit up. This skill was called Ice Feedback, which converted her own poison attribute into pure energy to feed back into her, significantly boosting her ice attribute power.

Using this skill would make her unable to use poison for a short time, but such a sparring match didn't require the use of poison, making it the perfect occasion for her to showcase this skill. Under such a dual amplification, she was currently able to exert power at the level of a Soul Emperor.

In less than half a stick of incense, Meng Hongchen had knocked everyone out of the arena, and the landing points of Xiao Hongchen's shells were also clearly predicted by Huo Yuhao. Everything he had just enjoyed, he now had to pay back in full, and he would have to endure four more rounds of frustration.

Next were the others' coordination with Huo Yuhao. The two reserve team soul masters who followed did not perform very well. Under the coordination of the autumn pair and the Hongchen siblings, they failed to protect Huo Yuhao in both matches. When Huo Yuhao used Ice Empress Bodyguard to protect himself, it was judged as their defeat.

Wang Dong, however, did not have the strength to clear the Hongchen siblings from the field, but by relying on her agility, she managed to hold out for the duration of an incense stick. By the end, when she had no strength left to fly, she used her Wing Guillotine as a shield to block a few of Xiao Hongchen's shells.

What surprised everyone the most was the combination of Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu.

When Chi Qiu stood beside Huo Yuhao, apart from the unfazed Wang Dong, the other four revealed expressions of shock. Just by them standing side by side, the aura around the two seemed to undergo a massive change; those who looked at them would involuntarily feel as if their own destiny had been gazed upon.

"Is using the Eye of Destiny considered cheating, Qiu'er?" Huo Yuhao whispered with a smile.

"Then is a Martial Soul Fusion Skill considered cheating?" Chi Qiu looked at him, her lips also carrying a hint of a smile.

"According to the rules, I cannot make a move other than using Spiritual Detection Sharing."

"It's fine, I should be enough on my own."

After leaving those words, Chi Qiu stepped forward and stood in front of Huo Yuhao. A few strands of her golden hair brushed lightly against the tip of Huo Yuhao's nose, letting him smell a faint scent of pine.

"Then I certainly believe in you." Huo Yuhao smiled slightly, the golden light in his eyes tinged with green.

Even without deliberately using the Eye of Destiny, the close connection brought about by the two attribute inductions caused a trace of destiny power to linger around them, which was not so easy to retract.

A dragon roar with a hint of majesty sounded from Chi Qiu's mouth, and the Golden Dragon phantom behind her instantly solidified, as if it were about to come alive. Huo Yuhao recalled the day Chi Qiu had rushed over to have him upgrade her Eye of Destiny, guessing that this form of her martial soul was the result of Xuan Ziwen's reinforcement.

Chi Qiu had not yet told him about the Golden Dragon King.

At this moment, her first and second soul rings flashed again, but her momentum was vastly different from the previous matches. When both amplifications fell upon her, a wild aura exploded from her body, causing her beautiful long hair to dance in the wind.

Huo Yuhao subconsciously wanted to dodge this pressure, but in the end, he did not move. This pressure indeed did not suppress him; it just swept gently past his side, just like the Qiu'er who usually walked beside him on the school path.

Opposite them, Wang Dong looked at Chi Qiu's true dragon-like momentum and complained to her teammates, "Miss Qiu just said that if Yuhao isn't on the other side, she's going to go all out. It seems she's being serious..."

"Are you afraid of her?" Xiao Hongchen replied. "What is the thruster on your back for? Move."

"How do you know I have a Soul Guidance Thruster?"

"Wasn't that made by me?"

"Oh." Wang Dong nodded; she had forgotten about that. Soul power was immediately injected into the thruster, and Wang Dong flashed out, her third soul ring flashing as she aimed directly at Huo Yuhao. She was already very familiar with the combat mode of an agility-type, and her speed was much faster than when she had first arrived at Shrek.

In the eyes of others, a pink-blue light streaked across the sky, and Wang Dong was already very close to Chi Qiu and Huo Yuhao.

"Provide fire support for Wang Dong," Xiao Hongchen arranged quickly. "Meng, you go to the front and hold off Chi Qiu."

Although the lack of Spiritual Detection Sharing made him feel that command efficiency had dropped significantly, they had come this far before, and everyone's on-the-spot reactions were not too bad. Meng Hongchen moved in response, her toes tapping lightly on the ground as all the thrusters behind her activated. She headed straight for Chi Qiu with a body full of chill.

But Chi Qiu just pointed her Golden Dragon Spear at her, and with a flash of fire at the tip, Meng Hongchen's speed plummeted.

Her attributes were ice and fire, and unfortunately, the extremes of these two attributes were right in front of her, one after the other. Even before the direct confrontation had begun, the suppression from the ultimate auras was enough to prevent her from exerting any combat power.

Afterward, under Huo Yuhao's guidance, Chi Qiu unhurriedly blocked the incoming artillery fire one by one. Finally, she held her spear horizontally, colliding fiercely with Wang Dong's full-speed Wing Guillotine, emitting a violent buzzing sound.

"Are you kidding me..." The other two reserve team members opened their mouths. "Is that the strength of a three-ring Soul Elder?"

"It seems she gets a bonus when she's with Huo Yuhao."

"No, it's simply what Wang Dong said—she's letting go of all restraints since Huo Yuhao isn't on the opposing side."

In the end, with everyone else cleared from the field by Chi Qiu, Xiao Hongchen, as the gunner, could not hold his ground alone and voluntarily withdrew from the arena for the sake of his pride.

"Alright, alright. Let's all take a break." Xiao Hongchen clapped his hands and looked at the twilight sky. "It's getting late. The tournament starts in half a month. During this time, those who need to ask for leave from their mentors should do so. The researchers at Mingde Hall don't care whether you are participating in the tournament or not."

When he spoke in this tone, the two reserve team members were barely listening. Huo Yuhao quietly looked at everyone's expressions, and it seemed he knew a little about why Xiao Hongchen was not well-liked at school.

However, he still felt that although Xiao Hongchen was not likable in his speech, he was truly efficient in getting things done, and his nature was quite good.

If it weren't for his reminder, Huo Yuhao would have really forgotten to ask Xuan Ziwen for leave. That teacher hoped he would stay in the laboratory twenty-four hours a day.

"If there's nothing else, let's disperse for today," Xiao Hongchen said. "Meng, Yuhao, you two stay behind."

"Brother Xiao, is there anything else?" Huo Yuhao stopped his footsteps as he was about to leave.

"What level are you?" Xiao Hongchen raised his own hand and touched it, looking as if he were maintaining some kind of treasure.

Huo Yuhao thought for a moment: "Level twenty-eight."

"Do you want to reach the third ring before the competition?"

"This... rising two levels in half a month doesn't seem very realistic."

"Eating something is possible," Xiao Hongchen said, his expression blurred by the dim twilight. "If you do, you'll be a three-ring at an even younger age than me."

"Brother Xiao," Huo Yuhao said, his expression turning serious as he brought up the topic. His tone also became solemn. "Do you know that the pills you take are quite potent? If you use too many, it will affect the foundation of your cultivation."

"Mm," Xiao Hongchen replied, uncharacteristically brief. Meng Hongchen picked up the conversation:

"Yuhao, most of the Soul Emperors to Soul Saints in the academy take pills. Their martial souls have limited quality, making it impossible to break through to higher levels without forcefully pushing themselves to Soul Saint. If they don't take anything, they might remain Soul Kings their entire lives."

"But Sister Meng, your and Brother Xiao's potential should be more than just Soul Saint!" Huo Yuhao said, getting a little emotional.

He would give his sincerity to those who were good to him. He didn't want to see the Hongchen siblings overdraw their talents.

"Heh heh..." Xiao Hongchen suddenly let out a couple of emotionally ambiguous laughs. "It's fine, Yuhao. I'm the academy's number one genius. Relying on myself is enough, so I haven't reached the point of overdrawing."

Meng Hongchen glanced strangely at her brother, but continued, "If you don't want to take pills, we won't force you, of course. Anyway, the main team members this time are all quite strong, so we don't need to forcefully boost our cultivation in the reserve team."

"I will work hard on my own," Huo Yuhao nodded at the two of them. "You mean well for me, but my ice martial soul's cultivation speed slows down after level thirty. I also want to build up my foundation before reaching level thirty."

"Alright," Xiao Hongchen nodded. "Then there's nothing else. Just get your Level 2 Soul Engineer certification before the competition. Have Chi Qiu and Wang Dong also take the Level 1 Soul Engineer exam. Without badges, some Soul Tools cannot be used on the competition grounds. Meng and I are going to the Jingyang Mountain Range to hunt for our fifth soul ring. We'll depart tomorrow morning and meet in half a month."