Arrogance

Huo Yuhao's rapid recovery had been thanks to the Green Aura's surge of power. When it sensed that his body had sustained too much damage, it suddenly erupted and seized half of the Gray Aura's territory. The Gray Aura didn't resist either. Perhaps it knew they needed to stand united against their common enemy.

After breaking free of its cocoon, the Green Aura's abilities had clearly improved tremendously. It only needed to pass over a wound to stop the bleeding and keep it from interfering with his movements. But none of that was the main issue now.

The most important thing was that Huo Yuhao now had the strength to match Dai Huabin, setting aside the cost. But after things had gone this far, neither of them could back down. The cost was insignificant by comparison. It only consumed the vitality in Huo Yuhao's body, shortening his life and damaging his talent.

Compared to that, having peace of mind mattered more. People lived for that one breath of pride. What was the point of living if you had to give in at every turn? Without that pride, talent and all the rest were useless.

The good news was that the energy in Huo Yuhao's body would burn first, which suited his current circumstances perfectly. Xu Sanshi had poured an enormous amount of money into him over the past few days, building up his energy far beyond what he could normally use. Without today's fight, it might have dissipated on its own. In other words, he could burn through all the excess fat in his body. Huo Yuhao wouldn't fall until the reserves he'd built up over the past few days were gone.

Although the burning gave him the false impression that his body was perfectly healthy, the pain in his mind constantly reminded him to end this match as soon as possible. Never mind that he'd forced himself to use Mental Attack beyond his limits twice; the battle between the two forces inside his brain was already enough to give him a headache.

Huo Yuhao didn't dwell on any of that. He had only one goal now: defeat the enemy in front of him. He couldn't kill him—not yet.

Huo Yuhao looked at Dai Huabin, who had been sent flying and now stared back at him in disbelief. He couldn't help bursting into laughter. "Come on! I'll fight you to the death. Do you dare?"

Dai Huabin couldn't take that kind of verbal attack. He immediately prepared to strike back. If a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master was beaten by a Support System One-Ring Soul Master, he'd never be able to show his face again. The White Tiger Family would become a laughingstock. It didn't matter what kind of cheat his opponent had used; that wasn't an excuse for losing. Here, only victory and defeat mattered. A loss was a loss, a win was a win—and he'd been beaten by someone of a lower rank. Worse, it could make the other families doubt the strength of the Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul. That was a matter of the family's very foundation. If its strength were questioned or even disproven, the family would be destroyed.

If your family's Martial Soul was weak, that meant your strength was weak. How could you possibly keep control of so many resources? Of course, there was no way this examination would get out. People with influence wouldn't speak of it, and no one would believe someone insignificant like Huo Yuhao. Only a public victory over Dai Huabin would spread among the masses. There would always be a chance for that later.

As expected, Dai Huabin roared and charged at Huo Yuhao again. This time, though, it didn't end as disastrously as before. Huo Yuhao didn't use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge. He couldn't keep this state up for long, so he had to end the fight quickly, even if it meant being put at a disadvantage.

Their fists collided at once. Huo Yuhao grunted. It hurt. His speed could match Dai Huabin's, but his defense still fell short. He could make up for that with his recovery, though. The Mysterious Jade Hand he had just learned also helped tremendously, sparing his hand from injury. His arm had the honor of taking the full force of the blow—and, as expected, it broke.

But his enemy's attacks didn't stop. Dai Huabin's claws came slashing in again. Ignoring his injuries, Huo Yuhao forced himself to take the blow, leaving his body covered in terrible, bloodied wounds. No matter how quickly the Green Aura healed him, it still had to prioritize. It couldn't restore everything at once. Its first task was to mend his broken arm. The blood loss was only an external injury, but the damage to his bones affected his fighting strength. Everything now had to serve the fight and help him grow stronger. His broken bones were forced back together. There might be complications, but with the Green Aura, that seemed unlikely. As long as it had enough energy, it should be able to restore him perfectly.

They kept clashing and trading blows, though it was more like Huo Yuhao taking a beating. His attacks could barely hurt Dai Huabin, who was protected by his defensive enhancement. But Dai Huabin couldn't hold out much longer either. He could handle the Soul Power cost of his Century Soul Ring; it was just that he'd already spent too much Soul Power. The effort of his first two matches was also taking its toll. Now he'd been hit by Mental Attack several times, and his consciousness was growing hazy.

Huo Yuhao was in bad shape too. His mouth was full of blood, and he didn't even dare open it. If he did, he'd lose his momentum, and it would be impossible to summon it again. He didn't want to lose, so he forced himself to hold on. His nose wouldn't stop bleeding, and he knew he was losing too much blood. There was blood splattered all around him.

But Huo Yuhao was still waiting for an opening. He had enough strength for one last counterattack. He could use Mental Attack once more, even in his current condition. That was his limit. Someone else—Tian Meng or Electrolux, for instance—would still have the strength to fight, but that would be unfair. Huo Yuhao amused himself with the thought as he waited for Dai Huabin to give him an opening.

"Bang." Huo Yuhao made a mistake and failed to dodge Dai Huabin's attack. The relentless barrage left him no time to catch his breath, and another blow broke his leg. Blood flowed freely. Huo Yuhao couldn't stop it anymore.

Seeing Huo Yuhao in such a state, the exhausted Dai Huabin decided he couldn't risk anything else going wrong. He had to end the match quickly. This time, he would use his full strength and give Huo Yuhao no chance to fight back.

His Martial Soul appeared before everyone once more. In contrast to Huo Yuhao's single white Soul Ring, two yellow Soul Rings—the mark of his superiority—lit up together.

White Tiger Barrier. White Tiger Intense Light Wave!

But this time, he'd learned from his earlier mistakes. He didn't know how Huo Yuhao had thrown off his sense of direction, but now he planned to fire at Huo Yuhao's face and see how he could dodge. That was right: he would use the White Tiger Barrier to boost his speed and charge straight at Huo Yuhao. Even if Huo Yuhao managed to hold on again, he still had his second Soul Skill.

Things went just as he'd imagined. The two of them quickly reached a stalemate. Dai Huabin sneered and prepared to unleash his Soul Skill, but Huo Yuhao's blood-covered face broke into a smile. Dai Huabin had a bad feeling. That smile had to mean something was wrong. But with the arrow on the string, he had no choice but to fire.

Just as the White Tiger Intense Light Wave was about to blast Huo Yuhao in the face, Dai Huabin's head throbbed with pain again. In the final instant before losing consciousness, he saw Huo Yuhao's eyes: a pair of Spirit Eyes filled with intricate, brilliant patterns and colors.

The combination of Mental Attack, Purple Demon Eye, Mental Interference, and the backlash from his failed Soul Skill left Dai Huabin completely unable to resist. Huo Yuhao had waited all this time for him to unleash his second Soul Skill. He'd found the one and only opening. Huo Yuhao threw every last bit of his strength into a punch to Dai Huabin's face. Dai Huabin lost consciousness and was declared defeated before being carried away.

Huo Yuhao stood on the platform, laughing through his bloody tears. He could no longer see clearly. His Soul Power was completely spent; he couldn't squeeze out a single drop more.

Mom, did you see that? I'll defeat every one of these enemies, one by one. Don't worry. Just before he lost consciousness, Huo Yuhao thought he heard Tang Ya and the others. But none of that mattered now. He really couldn't hold on any longer.

Huo Yuhao collapsed and lost consciousness.