Want to See Fireworks?

Want to see fireworks?

At the referee's signal, both teams slowly retreated to opposite sides of the arena.

"Begin!" the referee shouted, bringing his raised arm down sharply.

The instant the referee's arm passed over his head, golden light flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes. Spiritual Detection Sharing was already fully active, and two firing trajectories were marked in bright red lines.

Metal clanked repeatedly as Mi Jia and Ma Rulong's Soul Tools unfolded. Mi Jia held a Soul Ray Gun that looked unremarkable, while Ma Rulong took out a Soul Tool resembling a rocket launcher, though it wasn't a fixed Soul Tool.

Fixed Soul Tools weren't allowed in the arena. Anyone who used one would be disqualified.

Watching the seven opponents charge toward them in formation, Ma Rulong simply grinned and waved.

"Want to see fireworks?"

Then, without appearing to aim, he casually raised the rocket launcher. With a muffled thump, a streak of light shot toward the seven opponents at a tricky angle.

The recoil knocked Ma Rulong back two steps, giving Mi Jia room to move up beside him. He himself calmly stepped in front of Huo Yuhao, ready to protect him in case anything went wrong.

As the opponents activated their defensive Soul Skills against the incoming streak, Mi Jia casually raised his hand and pulled the trigger. A hair-thin red beam flashed past, striking the exact center of the streak's tip.

With a deafening boom, the streak exploded just in front of the defensive Soul Skills. Centered on the spot pierced by the red beam, it burst apart like fireworks, instantly lighting up the middle of the arena as bright as day.

Every Soul Power fragment that shot out flew at astonishing speed, scattering like flowers from the sky toward the seven who hadn't reacted in time.

The strongest of the seven had only just broken through to Soul King, while the weakest was a three-ring Soul Master. Ma Rulong, though he hadn't revealed his Soul Rings, had just unleashed a genuine Soul Emperor-level attack.

Those who had time to activate defensive Soul Skills were blasted off the stage by the all-around, inescapable barrage. The referee had to carry off those who hadn't.

The match ended so quickly that the entire arena fell silent.

The Soul Power fired by Ma Rulong's Soul Tool was actually dispersed from the outset. It simply had the ability to temporarily bind countless small portions of Soul Power together. Ming Hall had named it the Focused Soul Cannon.

Because the area damage from its explosion was uncontrollable, Ming Hall generally wouldn't allow Ma Rulong to use it unless he intended to strike indiscriminately. But the circumstances were a little different this time.

With Huo Yuhao there, as long as the amount of Soul Power bound together didn't exceed a certain limit, he could predict the flight paths of every fragment. That meant they could decide exactly when to detonate it.

And the number of fragments Huo Yuhao could track would grow as his Spiritual Power improved.

Since arriving in the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao had often used Spiritual Detection to predict the workings of various Soul Tools. That experience had honed his abilities in this area.

"Too bad it's daytime. Fireworks look better at night. If any team wants to see them, we can put on another show during an evening match."

Ma Rulong sighed as if disappointed, then turned and strode off the stage. Mi Jia and Huo Yuhao followed, hands in their pockets, putting on equally cool expressions.

The stands soon erupted in cheers, but they were much quieter than during Shrek's matches. It wasn't that the audience hadn't been impressed by Huo Yuhao and the others' fireworks display. They simply didn't want to cheer for the Sun Moon Empire's team and lose face.

"Whew—" As soon as he stepped off the stage, Huo Yuhao let out a long breath and looked as if he might collapse. Chi Qiu quickly caught him by the shoulder, and he leaned against her to catch his breath.

"Qiu'er, they're using my Sea of Consciousness like a Soul Tool."

Hearing his joking complaint, Chi Qiu smiled. "Take it up with the two team captains. What good will telling me do?"

"I'd never say that to anyone else." Huo Yuhao grinned, then straightened up again.

For him, calculating the trajectories of all the fragments from a Focused Soul Cannon in the middle of a match was still far too draining. There had simply been too many projectiles. Fortunately, Teacher Yu and Elder Ma had both said that they wouldn't make him expend his Spiritual Power so intensely again during the rest of the round-robin.

The fireworks display had been an idea Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen had come up with on a whim. Ma Rulong seemed more levelheaded than Xiao Hongchen, but the two of them, despite their usual rivalry, were surprisingly in sync when it came to coming up with crazy ideas.

What else could Huo Yuhao do? He could only indulge them a little.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with giving the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy a dazzling opening win. Finishing the first round early would leave them more time to prepare for the round-robin.

As long as the round-robin matches weren't team battles, Huo Yuhao probably wouldn't have to compete. Even if they drew a two-two-three format, he would only possibly take part in the three-on-three match. That meant he had plenty of time to rest and recover before the quarterfinals.

"Look at you lot. You've worn Yuhao out."

The regular team member who said this was Lin Xi. He nudged Ma Rulong with his elbow. "You're buying Yuhao a good meal tonight."

"You just want to mooch a free meal," Ma Rulong retorted. "I'll definitely treat Yuhao, but whether you're invited is another matter. Why don't you try shaking down Xiao Hongchen?"

Watching the two senior students bicker, Huo Yuhao smiled from the heart. When he'd been at Shrek, he'd read about the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. But in Shrek's lessons, the academy had always been portrayed as oppressive and embittered.

Only after coming here to study had Huo Yuhao truly experienced the academy's energetic atmosphere. How could those who were leading the times be so embittered?

Sure enough, you couldn't know the truth without experiencing things for yourself.

They stayed to watch a few more matches. Later, they returned to the hotel to rest and discuss their tactics for the round-robin.

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Chi Qiu walked at the back of the group. Just as Elder Ma at the front opened the meeting-room door, a familiar gasp came from behind them.

Huo Yuhao turned around and met the eyes of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, who were walking in the opposite direction.

"So it really is you! You actually went to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy!" This time, Zhu Lu cried out loud. She pointed at the three of them in disbelief, her voice echoing down the corridor of the Star Emperor Hotel. Both the Shrek team and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team stopped in their tracks.

Over on Shrek's side, Wang Yan rubbed his temples in frustration. This was exactly what he'd hoped to avoid.

"Huh? And what if we did?" Wang Dong had had enough. "What business is it of yours, losers? Worry about yourself!"

"You ran away just because you didn't get a core disciple position. Talk about being fragile. If you can't even handle that much pressure, then this is all you'll ever amount to." Dai Huabin chimed in. His words were clearly directed at Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward. At this point, there was no need to be polite. "We're on different paths, so there's nothing more to say. I've never hated pressure. I hate injustice. Dai Huabin, as the son of Duke White Tiger, how dare you criticize me like that? Have you ever experienced real pressure in your life? Your elders paved your entire path for you."

"And even with that paved path, you still lost to us," Chi Qiu added coldly.

"Ha! The runner-up in the Soul Fighting Tournament shouldn't be calling anyone a loser." Zhu Lu's face had flushed slightly. She was clearly getting flustered, but she still tried to strike back.

Huo Yuhao remained composed. "Were Shrek's past glories earned by Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu in their first tournament?"

"You!" Dai Huabin started to flare up, but a hand had already moved to stop him. Bei Bei stepped out from the group, a smile still on his face, though it held little warmth. "I'm sorry, everyone. This argument never needed to happen. Let's all take a step back and put this behind us. And I hope you young friends won't insult Shrek's legacy."

Huo Yuhao looked at Bei Bei. He remembered him; before meeting Brother Sky Dream, he'd once crossed paths with Bei Bei. But Bei Bei didn't seem to recognize him at all.

That was only natural. Huo Yuhao had changed dramatically over the past year or so. There was no trace left of the frail, malnourished little boy he'd once been.

As soon as Bei Bei finished speaking, someone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy team stepped forward and boldly positioned himself in front of Huo Yuhao and the others. It was Xiao Hongchen.

"Isn't that a rather one-sided way to put it?" Xiao Hongchen wore a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Before you blame my teammates for insulting Shrek, why don't you listen to what your teammates said to mine? I think Wang Dong had it exactly right: worry about yourselves."