After he finished speaking, Lang Ya snapped his fingers. Huo Yuhao suddenly realized that not only had the children beside Lang Ya frozen in place, but Zhou Yi and Dong'er had also gone still, as if someone had hit a pause button. The Soul Power fluctuations around them had vanished completely.
"To make sure no one interferes with you during the fight, little Huo Yuhao, I've temporarily stopped their thoughts. But don't worry. All you have to do is defeat the disciples I brought." As he spoke, Lang Ya beckoned to the people behind him.
A child with a conspicuously muscular right hand stepped forward. For some reason, though, his eyes were vacant, and the flow of Soul Power inside him was highly abnormal.
Huo Yuhao could tell that this child, along with the others following Lang Ya, had no normal consciousness at all. They were merely puppets under Lang Ya's control.
He was already activating his First Soul Skill. According to the other man, Lang Ya was at least a Soul Douluo-level expert with a Body Martial Soul, someone Zhou Yi alone absolutely couldn't stand against. And the effects of his Soul Skill were downright sinister, rather like Huo Yuhao's own: both directly affected their targets' minds, creating something like an illusion when, in fact, reality itself was being altered.
If it came down to a direct clash... even if the essence of Spirit Genesis God was a million-year Soul Skill, being sealed down to the thousand-year level might keep it from directly opposing Lang Ya. But focusing its power on one point to dispel a single person's Soul Skill was no problem!
He knew Lang Ya wasn't the sort of person who would honestly keep his word. The first time Huo Yuhao had met him in his previous life, Lang Ya had tried to join forces with someone else to abduct him by force.
Even if he really did defeat these children, Lang Ya might not obediently let him go. In his current state of mind, the man would probably fly into a rage and abduct him anyway.
I have to find a way to get word out first. If Long Xiaoyao still has his strength... even half a second will be enough!
Without realizing it, Huo Yuhao slowly moved in front of Zhou Yi and Dong'er, blocking Lang Ya's view. He knew Lang Ya would notice his little movement, but the man was arrogant enough not to care about such a minor trick.
"I'll fight you, but... you have to keep your word!" Huo Yuhao strode toward the strange child, full of fighting spirit, and Lang Ya nodded in satisfaction.
"Of course. Everyone in the Body Sect knows that I, Lang Ya, always keep my word." Laughing, he snapped his fingers again. Everyone except Huo Yuhao and the child was whisked away to the stands, while Lang Ya himself settled into the VIP seat with the best view.
His Eighth Soul Skill already covered the entire Spirit Fighting Arena, and he had indeed sensed the Soul Power Huo Yuhao had placed on that girl.
However, with a casual adjustment, he made Huo Yuhao's Soul Power vanish completely.
"What use are your little tricks..." Lang Ya looked at Huo Yuhao on the stage with an unreadable smile. From that Soul Power, he had sensed an exceptionally powerful spiritual force. His guess had been right: the child's Martial Soul wasn't simply his eyes, but a combination of his eyes and brain.
"Let's see just how many more surprises you have."
I successfully sent Dong'er out... It seems he didn't notice this puppet made from spiritual power.
Huo Yuhao glanced at Lang Ya in the VIP seat. Thankfully, this Soul Skill was reliable. Now he just had to deal with the fight in front of him and buy some time while he was at it.
He looked at the child. The boy's right hand was at least as large as his head, and an unusual yellow pattern marked the back of it. As expected, it was probably a special pattern like Lang Ya's, displaying his Soul Ring.
"At least tell me your name first," Huo Yuhao said, but the other boy didn't react.
"Haha, this child is rather shy. I'll introduce these few for him."
"The one in front of you is Tao Yu. His Martial Soul is his right hand. The one with the long legs is Chang Tu; his Martial Soul is those legs of his... The one with the especially large ears is Hai Jiu. His Martial Soul is those ears."
"Every one of them is a One-Ring Soul Master with a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. As far as I know, you have Innate Full Soul Power and have already obtained your First Soul Ring, so this should be a fair fight."
After the introductions, Tao Yu gave a slight bow. As he extended his right hand toward Huo Yuhao, a pattern like the one on its back appeared on his palm. At the same time, the hand grew even larger, almost as big as Tao Yu's entire body, yet he showed no sign of strain. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring extended from his palm, then settled around his wrist like a nest.
After taking a deep breath, Huo Yuhao's eyes shone with purple light. As starlight swirled within them, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring appeared behind his head.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring!" Lang Ya sprang to his feet. He hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to give him such a huge surprise just by summoning his Soul Ring.
A Thousand-Year First Soul Ring... This was no longer a matter of Martial Soul quality. The child himself was a monstrous prodigy! Even the current sect master, who possessed the finest Body Martial Soul, had a First Soul Ring of only nine hundred and ninety-nine years—the absolute limit...
A treasure... This little Huo Yuhao before him was an enormous treasure trove!
Lang Ya fought desperately to suppress the urge to cry out. He knew that making a strange noise now would ruin this highly entertaining fight. He had to stay quiet.
A Body Martial Soul with a Thousand-Year First Soul Ring... He had to see just how far Huo Yuhao could go.
At the same time, Tao Yu launched his first attack.
He charged rapidly toward Huo Yuhao, his right hand clenched into a fist the size of a sandbag in the literal sense, and swung it straight at Huo Yuhao's face.
But Huo Yuhao seemed frozen. He stayed right where he was, staring fixedly at Tao Yu as he charged toward him. The only difference was that Huo Yuhao had taken up a strange starting stance.
Just as Tao Yu's fist was about to hit Huo Yuhao, the Soul Ring behind Huo Yuhao's head suddenly lit up, and a wave of spiritual power rippled around him.
He's using his Soul Skill—the Thousand-Year First Soul Skill! Lang Ya shouted inwardly. Watching Huo Yuhao use a Thousand-Year Soul Skill made him even more excited than he had been the first time he used a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill.
He sensed the spiritual fluctuations around Huo Yuhao, and realized that their pattern was remarkably similar to his own Martial Soul.
In the blink of an eye, Lang Ya suddenly saw that Tao Yu and Huo Yuhao had switched places.
No, it wasn't a simple switch. To be precise, Huo Yuhao was now just standing there, while Tao Yu lay on the ground. The Soul Ring that had been nestled around his wrist had vanished, and even his enormous right hand had returned to its original size.
In other words, Huo Yuhao had ended his fight with Tao Yu in the blink of an eye!
Before you continue