"What?!"
Wang Gang's pupils contracted sharply, and he let out an incredulous cry.
The force of the shock surged into his body like countless fine needles, stabbing into his five viscera and six bowels all at once!
Pain swept through him in an instant. He felt his qi and blood roiling inside him, and a sweetness rose in his throat—
"Pfft!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, turning into a cloud of mist in midair.
Huo Yuhao shifted his feet lightly and used Explosive Step, retreating several meters in an instant to avoid the blood mist. Not a speck stained his clothes.
Wang Gang staggered back several steps. He clutched his chest with one hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the other, his eyes filled with disbelief.
He lowered his head and looked at the golden barrier over his chest—his Vajra Body remained intact, without a single trace of damage.
Yet the pain inside him was as real as if his insides were being twisted by knives.
"This... what kind of Soul Skill is this? How can it penetrate my defenses?"
Wang Gang raised his head and stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao, his voice hoarse and trembling.
He had never seen a Soul Skill like this.
One that could pierce the defenses of the Vajra Body and attack him directly from within—this was simply inconceivable!
Could the person before him really be a mere Soul Master at level fourteen?
The man felt even more terrifying than some of the fifth-year students above level fifty whom Wang Gang had met.
Those bizarre Self-Created Soul Skills were simply impossible to guard against.
Huo Yuhao did not answer.
He merely stood there quietly, his hands hanging at his sides and his gaze as calm as still water.
He had no habit of explaining his Soul Skills to others.
The more secret a Soul Skill was, the deadlier it became in battle. Revealing his trump cards to the public would be the height of stupidity.
He merely said coolly:
"You've already lost. That palm strike displaced your five viscera and six bowels. If you aren't treated promptly, you'll inevitably suffer lasting injuries."
His voice was calm, as if he were simply stating a fact.
The crowd below erupted at once—
"Lost? Wang Gang lost?!"
"That's impossible! He only threw one punch! How could he have lost already?!"
"Didn't you see him spit blood? Huo Yuhao's palm must have injured him!"
"But he's level twenty-nine! How could a level-twenty-nine fighter lose so quickly to someone at level fourteen?!"
No one was willing to believe it.
But the blood still trickling from the corner of Wang Gang's mouth was an undeniable fact.
Wang Gang lowered his head and panted heavily. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, blooming into little blood blossoms across the Soul Fighting Platform.
Inside him, his five viscera and six bowels churned like a storm-tossed sea, wave after wave of pain crashing over him.
Huo Yuhao was right. He had indeed lost.
In his current condition, continuing to fight would only worsen his injuries and leave him with damage that could never be undone.
Reason told him he should admit defeat.
He should leave the Soul Fighting Platform, receive treatment, and safeguard his future.
But—
Wang Gang raised his head. His gaze passed over Huo Yuhao and fell on Zhou Yi below the platform.
Zhou Yi was staring at him, her eyes full of anxiety and unwillingness to accept defeat.
Her lips moved slightly, as if she were silently saying something.
Wang Gang understood.
She was saying—pill.
Wang Gang lowered his head and looked at his clenched left hand.
In his palm, the blood-red pill still lay quietly.
The Blood Soul Pill.
He remembered Zhou Yi's words—
"If you can't beat him, swallow this pill. Cripple him, and I'll make sure Shrek Academy doesn't expel you. I'll also give you a large sum of Gold Soul Coins, so your mother and sister can live without worry."
Mother... sister...
Wang Gang closed his eyes.
He thought of his mother's weather-beaten face, and of his younger sister's clear, innocent eyes.
They were still waiting for him back home, waiting for him to make something of himself, waiting for him to give them a better life.
He still had a bright future ahead of him.
Once he broke through to level thirty, he could advance to the fourth year, take higher-level examinations, and grow stronger step by step until he became the pride of his family.
He didn't want to use this pill.
He didn't want to ruin his future.
He didn't want to disappoint his mother and sister.
But—
Wang Gang opened his eyes and looked at Zhou Yi again.
Zhou Yi was still staring at him. Besides anxiety, there was a trace of something he had never seen in her before... madness.
Would she let him off?
If he surrendered, what would Zhou Yi do to him? What would she do to his family?
Wang Gang didn't know.
But he knew Zhou Yi was no soft touch.
She could make seventy-one students take turns fighting Huo Yuhao. She could produce a forbidden drug like the Blood Soul Pill without hesitation. She could say "cripple him" without batting an eye—
There was nothing she wouldn't do.
Wang Gang clenched the pill in his hand.
He remembered how, when he had first come to Shrek, he'd had no friends and barely any money. He'd struggled even to afford food.
Zhou Yi had given him cultivation resources, allowing him to focus on his training.
He had always kept that kindness in his heart.
So when Zhou Yi had approached him, he hadn't refused.
Now it was time to repay that debt.
Wang Gang took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at Huo Yuhao.
A note of determination flashed in his eyes.
Huo Yuhao met his gaze and furrowed his brow slightly.
He saw something familiar in Wang Gang's eyes—
The light in the eyes of a man ready to die.
"Why bother?"
Huo Yuhao spoke softly, almost as if to himself.
Wang Gang didn't answer.
He merely raised his hand and brought the blood-red pill to his mouth.
His throat bobbed.
The pill went down.
In an instant—
Wang Gang's body shuddered violently!
A terrifying aura erupted from within him!
It was a savage, bloodthirsty, frenzied aura, like a Ferocious Beast breaking free of its cage, spreading in every direction!
Wang Gang's eyes instantly turned blood-red!
Dark-red patterns surfaced across his skin, like cracked earth or flames licking at the air!
His Soul Power began to surge wildly—
Level twenty-nine...
Level twenty-nine peak...
Level thirty!
Level thirty!
In the span of a single breath, his Soul Power broke through the barrier at level twenty-nine and entered the realm of the level-thirty Soul Elder!
And it was still rising!
Level thirty-one!
Level thirty-two!
The people below the platform stared in stunned silence—
"What... what happened to him?!"
"Why is his Soul Power suddenly surging like that?!"
"He's level thirty! He's broken through to Soul Elder!"
"No, wait! Look at his eyes! Why have they turned red?!"
"He's gone mad! He's completely lost it!"
Mu Jin shot to her feet, her face turning deathly pale.
She stared at Wang Gang on the platform, her eyes filled with shock and fury—
"Zhou Yi!"
She whipped around to face Zhou Yi, her voice practically gritted out through clenched teeth:
"You actually made him swallow a Blood Soul Pill?!"
Faced with Mu Jin's accusation, Zhou Yi merely raised an eyebrow and put on an expression that said she knew nothing.
"What Blood Soul Pill? I don't know anything about that."
Her tone was utterly innocent, but a flash of smugness crossed her eyes.
Mu Jin had no proof, after all.
With Fan Yu backing her, she could easily smooth over a little matter like this.
She could give Wang Gang's family some Gold Soul Coins, and then the whole affair would quietly disappear.
As for Wang Gang—
He was just a tool. If he was ruined, so be it.
Seeing Zhou Yi's expression, Mu Jin burned with anger.
But she had no time to argue with Zhou Yi. She whipped around and looked toward the platform—
Wang Gang had already moved!
After swallowing the Blood Soul Pill, his speed had increased dramatically. He shot toward Huo Yuhao like a streak of crimson light!
Mu Jin took a step, ready to rush onto the platform and stop him—
Too late!
Wang Gang was too fast. He covered the ten-meter distance in an instant!
His arms were once again covered in Steel Arm, but they were thicker and more grotesque than before!
Dark-red patterns spread over the steel surface, radiating a savage aura!
His eyes were blood-red. Like a beast that had lost its reason, he stared fixedly at Huo Yuhao—
And threw a punch!
The punch tore through the air, releasing a sharp boom as it ripped the atmosphere apart!
That punch could have smashed a boulder to pieces!
Everyone below held their breath, waiting for Huo Yuhao's inevitable defeat.
And yet—
Huo Yuhao still stood where he was.
He watched the frenzied punch hurtling toward him, Wang Gang's blood-red eyes, and the face twisted with pain.
He sighed inwardly.
Why bother?
He slowly raised his right hand.
At the same time, the Soul Power and spiritual power within him began to surge wildly!
Not outward.
But inward.
Gathering behind him.
The next instant—
A phantom figure more than three meters tall appeared behind him!
It wore the Sun Moon Emperor Robe and the Star Emperor Crown. Its features were indistinct, yet the supreme majesty of one who looked down upon the world and commanded the cosmos shook everyone's hearts!
It hovered behind Huo Yuhao, as if it had come from ancient times—or descended from the heavens.
On closer inspection, the figure's outline bore a striking resemblance to Huo Yuhao's adult appearance.
This was exactly how Huo Yuhao had looked in his previous life, when he had unified the continent and become the Sun Moon Emperor!
This move, too, was of his own creation.
It combined the Reign Over the World Fist Technique left behind by Dragon God Douluo Mu En of Shrek Academy with the Self-Created Soul Skills of the Body Sect and the various sects across the continent. Then, drawing on the insights he had gained from living two lives, he had finally brought it together.
This was the trump card he had kept hidden up his sleeve.
She wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.
But now—
Wang Gang's fist was already inches away.
Huo Yuhao raised his right hand and met it with a punch.
The phantom behind him raised its right hand as well, throwing a punch.
Before their fists even touched, the force of their blows had already arrived.
The entire Soul Fighting Platform trembled!
Huo Yuhao spoke slowly. His voice wasn't loud, yet it rang in everyone's heart like the judgment of a god—
"From ancient times to the present, I alone reign supreme."
The moment the words fell, their fists collided!
"BOOM!"
A thunderous explosion burst across the Soul Fighting Platform!
The violent shock wave spread in every direction like a tsunami. The students in the front rows below the platform were swept off their feet, and cries of alarm rang out!
Dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's sight.
No one could see what had happened.
They saw only a figure flying backward like a kite with its string cut—
It was Wang Gang.
He flew past the Soul Fighting Platform, over the heads of the crowd below, and dozens of meters away—
"BANG!"
He slammed into the wall at the edge of the Soul Fighting Arena!
Cracks spread across the wall, and stones flew everywhere.
Wang Gang was embedded in the wall, eyes shut and breathing faintly. He had completely passed out.
The entire arena fell silent.
Everyone stared dumbly at the figure embedded in the wall, their minds blank.
One punch.
Just one punch.
Wang Gang, whose strength had surged after swallowing the Blood Soul Pill—a quasi-Soul Elder above level thirty—had been sent flying dozens of meters and embedded in the wall with a single punch.
What kind of power was this?
What kind of fist technique was that?
The dust slowly settled.
Huo Yuhao's figure emerged once more on the Soul Fighting Platform.
He was still standing where he had been, as if he had never moved.
But the phantom behind him had vanished.
His right hand hung at his side, his fist covered in blood—not Wang Gang's, but his own.
Though his body was powerful, with the first and second stages of the first level of the Myriad Tribulation Indestructible Body perfected together, and Copper Skin Golden Muscle, he was still far from strong enough to fully execute that fist technique.
Forcing out even a trace of its divine essence had subjected his right arm to tremendous backlash.
Now, the meridians in his right arm throbbed with pain, as if they had been burned by fire.
The skin on his fist was torn, and blood dripped between his fingers, blossoming into clusters of crimson flowers on the Soul Fighting Platform.
Huo Yuhao lowered his eyes to his right fist and furrowed his brows slightly.
It was still too much for him.
But he showed no sign of pain. He merely lifted his head slowly, looked at Wang Gang embedded in the wall, then turned toward the stands where Zhou Yi was.
Zhou Yi's face had twisted beyond recognition.
Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Disbelief nearly spilled from her eyes.
Below the platform, a deathly silence reigned.
Everyone stared at Huo Yuhao as if they were looking at a monster.
Huo Yuhao simply stood there quietly.
With a thought, a gentle life force silently flowed from the Eye of Destiny deep within his eyes, spreading through his meridians and throughout his body.
The power was like a clear spring. It flowed through his damaged meridians and across his split right fist, gradually mending the injuries.
The bleeding slowly stopped.
The wounds began to heal.
Only after seeing that Huo Yuhao was all right did Mu Jin finally relax.
She let out a long breath, and the knot of worry in her chest finally loosened. What had just happened had been far too perilous—after Wang Gang swallowed the Blood Soul Pill and his strength surged, when he threw that punch, she had almost thought Huo Yuhao was done for.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness he was all right.
Mu Jin's gaze lingered on Huo Yuhao for a moment, a complicated light flashing in her eyes. This young man was even more unfathomable than she had imagined.
But she soon looked away and turned to Zhou Yi beside her.
Anger surged through her once again.
"Zhou Yi!"
Mu Jin's voice rose sharply, brimming with barely contained anger and accusation. She stepped forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhou Yi, flames practically leaping from them.
"It was just a match, yet you had a student take a pill! Are you still fit to be a teacher?!"
Her sharp voice echoed through the Soul Fighting Arena.
The students who had not yet left turned to look. Their gazes shifted between Mu Jin and Zhou Yi. Some whispered among themselves, some looked astonished, while others were completely baffled. A pill? What pill?
Faced with Mu Jin's accusation, Zhou Yi merely raised an eyebrow.
There was not a trace of panic on her face. Instead, she wore a perfectly convincing look of innocence and confusion.
"I told you, I don't know anything about it."
Zhou Yi spread her hands, sounding utterly blameless. "Wang Gang did it himself. What does that have to do with me? As his homeroom teacher, I only told my student to go up and spar. How could I know he had hidden a pill on him?"
As she spoke, she even shook her head, looking as though she were just as surprised.
Mu Jin trembled with anger—
Shameless!
Absolutely shameless!
She had personally placed the pill in Wang Gang's hand, and she had even sent him a voice transmission telling him to "cripple him." Yet now she was pretending none of it had happened!
But Mu Jin had no proof.
Wang Gang had already been carried to the infirmary, unconscious.
Even if he had been awake, given how grateful and fearful he was of Zhou Yi, he would never have told the truth.
Before you continue