Triple-Stacked Soul Shock

Triple-Stacked Soul Shock

However, the proctor outside the arena was naturally not just there for show. Seeing this, he hurriedly intervened. But perhaps because he had been careless, perhaps because he had not fought in too long and was a little muddled, or perhaps simply to highlight the power of the Fusion Ring soul skill.

For some reason, a dignified six-ring Soul Emperor rashly entered the battlefield without even activating Martial Soul Possession. On top of that, he was affected by Xiao Xiao's Fusion Ring soul skill.

Thus, despite his high Soul Power Level, if nothing unexpected happened, this proctor would end up injured and humiliated.

But Xuan Zi on the viewing platform slowly rose to his feet and, in one of his rare interventions, saved the situation. This was also one of the few shining moments for the honorary Great Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult.

The golden light blade Wang Dong had released seemed to be drawn by an invisible force in midair, flying into Xuan Zi's greasy hand. Then came a soft pop, like a balloon being punctured, and the light blade was crushed.

Xuan Zi did not linger. He turned and left the viewing platform, with Wang Yan hurriedly following after him.

Seeing this, the proctor ignored Xie Huanyue, who was drenched in cold sweat, as well as the Luo Brothers, who stood frozen in place, unsure whether they should keep fighting or do anything at all.

The proctor announced bluntly, "I declare Wang Dong's team the winners of this match. They advance."

The battle had ended so quickly that some of the teachers on the viewing platform had not even noticed what had happened.

In barely a few dozen seconds, everything had changed. A powerful team led by a Soul Elder had been defeated so easily, leaving everyone present somewhat silent.

Huo Yuhao patted Wang Dong's pale shoulder and said to her and Xiao Xiao, "Let's go. Get off the field and rest while we can. Recover your soul power and stamina."

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao both nodded weakly and left the arena with Huo Yuhao supporting them.

"Looks like the result of this battle was pretty good. At least we preserved plenty of stamina," Huo Yuhao said as though it were only natural.

"Tch, easy for you to say! My soul power is almost drained! That guy was just a Soul Elder. He had a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and so did I. If we had really fought, I might not have lost to him."

Wang Dong curled her lip at Huo Yuhao.

"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. As for whether Fusion Ring is your trump card or something that cannot be exposed, it means nothing. Before absolute strength, it makes no difference whether you hide your methods."

"A real battle is never about calculating petty gains and losses over every inch of ground."

"Only a correct overall strategy can truly win the final victory."

"If we had competed in endurance against a Defense Type Soul Elder, even if we eventually wore him down, our own expenditure would never have been small."

"It would be better to strike quickly at the very beginning, while they were still unguarded."

"Knowing how to leverage your advantages and avoid your weaknesses—that is the art of battle," Huo Yuhao went on and on.

Wang Dong felt her head swelling from listening. "No, no, no. Huo Yuhao, stop preaching already. I'll just listen to you during a fight, okay? As for tactics and strategy, don't tell me about that stuff. I can't understand it."

Huo Yuhao helplessly shook his head. He had spent three months with Wang Dong and understood her personality. Put nicely, she was straightforward. Put bluntly, she had a brain but did not like using it.

Although she occasionally used her brain, it usually did not last long.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, found Huo Yuhao's understanding of strategy and tactics rather novel.

Don't obsess over gains and losses—set the strategic direction? Xiao Xiao thought of her Second Martial Soul and her previous rash plan to add a soul ring to it.

If she had only wanted to increase her strength in the short term, she would instead have been sacrificing her future potential. No wonder Huo Yuhao had warned her.

At the same time, Huo Yuhao led Xiao Xiao's understanding of tactics and strategy astray. It could be said that she came to pursue efficiency more, or that she had become more unscrupulous. After all, only victors had the right to speak; losers had no right to argue.

What Huo Yuhao said and did were principles so basic they could not have been more obvious in the world he had come from. Yet in the Douluo Continent, where everyone seemed to have been dumbed down, they were still remarkably useful.

And the influence and changes he brought would begin at Shrek Academy and gradually spread throughout the world of the Douluo Continent.

There was no need to mention the remaining Quarterfinals and Semifinals, which they won with ease.

At this moment, on Sea God Island by the lakeside, Wang Yan still stood respectfully beside Xuan Zi.

Holding a chicken leg, Xuan Zi commented on the battle just now. "Interesting. Wang Dong may be the team's captain, but the real commander is that little fellow with the Body Martial Soul."

"The battle simply ended too quickly. Or rather, that little fellow is quite bold."

"He actually dared to have both main combatants go all out from the start. Either he is rash enough not to consider the consequences of a misjudgment or failed coordination leaving them unable to continue afterward."

"Or he has absolute confidence in his own judgment and believes he can control everything in the battle."

"Although he did not display anything else remarkable in this battle, I have already heard about what happened yesterday. I believe that little fellow with the Body Martial Soul is the second kind of person."

"No matter what, the quality of this year's students is quite good. There are plenty of promising seedlings."

Swallowing the last bite of chicken leg, Xuan Zi stood and wiped his greasy hands on his clothes. He patted Wang Yan on the shoulder. "How about this? Keep those three little fellows as candidates for now. Whether they can make it to the end will determine the rest."

Wang Yan did not say much. Naturally, he understood what Xuan Zi meant. He immediately replied respectfully, "Yes, Elder Xuan. Then I will not disturb you further."

Xuan Zi waved his hand and staggered toward Sea God Pavilion.

The following afternoon, the matches of the previous days had all ended early. The remaining teams were naturally no match for Huo Yuhao's group. With the Semifinals now over, only the final battle remained.

And their opponents were naturally the team led by Dai Huabin.

Recalling the heartfelt hatred Dai Huabin had shown during the morning's drawing of lots, Huo Yuhao's gaze remained calm, but he quietly said to himself.

Don't worry. Since I have taken your place, I will return your hatred to every one of them tenfold. Everyone will get their share. There's no need to rush.

This was something the transmigrator had decided from the very beginning, when he acquired Huo Yuhao's memories.

The young Huo Yuhao had not yet been twisted by Ancestor Tang into the puppet from the original story, one who could be manipulated at will.

The deep hatred and pain contained in the memories and obsessions he had passed on also made the transmigrator empathize with him.

After all, if his own real mother had died in his original world, then he, too, would likely have pursued revenge at all costs.

Now that he had inherited someone else's body and possessed the ability to act, the young transmigrator naturally would not begrudge helping the original owner complete his revenge.

Moreover, in his current eyes, Dai Huabin and the others were not particularly formidable. The combination of the Evil Eye White Tiger and Hell Spirit Cat was, even within the world of the Douluo Continent, merely average.

"Both sides, enter the field and state your names," the proctor ordered.

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Cui Yajie met in the center of the arena, sizing up the opponents they were about to face.

Dai Huabin's eyes held only indifference and coldness, born from the pride of his background. In his eyes, none of his peers were worthy of being his opponent.

Seeing that look, the original owner's body seemed to roar with rage, but Huo Yuhao's expression remained calm. Having already been an adult when he transmigrated, he would not be so easily overwhelmed by the original owner's emotions.

And if he wanted to win the battle and settle the score for those grievances, he could not rely on nothing but hot blood and anger.

After both sides had stated their names, the proctor reiterated the rules before allowing them to return to the edges of the arena and take their positions.

As they headed toward the edge of the arena, Huo Yuhao said to Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, "Leave the girl named Cui Yajie to the two of you. Don't let her interfere with me. Leave Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu entirely to me."

"Huh?" Wang Dong froze for a moment, then looked at Huo Yuhao as though asking whether he was joking.

Only after realizing he was completely serious did she nod and say softly, "All right. Be careful. Xiao Xiao and I will come support you as soon as we deal with Cui Yajie."

Once both sides were in position, the entire arena fell silent. Every teacher watched the battle below intently.

That included Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo. The day before, Qian Duoduo had sought out Yan Shaozhe alone to discuss poaching Huo Yuhao for the Soul Engineering Department.

Naturally, Yan Shaozhe would not agree so easily. In his view, although Huo Yuhao had some talent for command, his Soul Power Level was too low. He was merely a dispensable talent—too much of a pity to discard, but not truly valuable.

But since Qian Duoduo wanted him, Yan Shaozhe naturally could not hand him over so easily. No matter what, he had to squeeze that stingy Qian Duoduo for all he was worth.

And if Huo Yuhao's group won this Freshman Assessment, or if Huo Yuhao displayed some other outstanding qualities, then whether he should be allowed to join the Soul Engineering Department would be another matter entirely.

With the proctor's command, the match officially began.

Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin both rushed toward each other's positions. The final's arena was far larger than the arenas used in the previous rounds.

Thus, even with long-range methods, they had to spend some time closing the distance before they could use them. After all, battles between low-level Soul Masters were still primarily based on close combat and mid-range attacks.

As he activated Martial Soul Possession, Huo Yuhao also rarely drew upon the power within his body that came from Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Since Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power flowed through Huo Yuhao's body, Huo Yuhao could naturally use it as a medium to draw upon a portion of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power.

Even a small portion was an enormous amount for a seventeenth-level Soul Master like Huo Yuhao. Of course, he would not directly use that Spiritual Power to bolster his attacks.

After all, the aura of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power was clearly different from his own.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao only intended to borrow Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power to protect himself. As for why, that had to do with what Huo Yuhao had specifically prepared for this battle.

To prepare for this battle, Huo Yuhao had put the adjusted Soul Skill Stacking Fusion Circuit into use the day before.

The Soul Power Circuits in his body, which had previously consisted of an Acceleration Soul Skill Circuit and a Soul Power Overload Circuit, had now been replaced by two Soul Power Circuits formed from overlapping and fusing two Spiritual Shock skills.

These two Soul Power Circuits were laid out around Huo Yuhao's head, passing through his brain and eyes. If not for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's precise control, Huo Yuhao could not have made them a reality at this stage, even if he could conceive of them.

The effects of using these two soul skills as stacked Soul Power Circuits were astonishing. Their function was not to actively activate the Soul Shock soul skill, but to serve as amplifiers for the Soul Shock soul skill Huo Yuhao already possessed.

They were like two focusing lenses, gathering and compressing the Soul Shock Huo Yuhao released—which would otherwise continuously scatter and lose soul power and Spiritual Power along its path—into a sharp cone or a heavy hammer.

They condensed what had originally been a Spiritual Shock splashed outward like water and slammed it fiercely into the enemy.

With the stacked aid of these two Soul Power Circuits, the power of Huo Yuhao's Soul Shock increased by nearly double. Among low-level Soul Masters, this was already extremely terrifying.

But the price of doubling its power was the backlash Huo Yuhao's own Spiritual Power inflicted on him. With Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power helping bear the burden, however, that backlash would be greatly reduced to an acceptable level.

By the calculations of Huo Yuhao's Eye of Truth, the distance between him and Dai Huabin's group was steadily shrinking.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao were actually the first to close in on their opponents, though they had not yet reached the point of engaging in close combat.

Closer, closer. Ten steps, five steps, three steps, one step. Now. The instant Dai Huabin entered the effective killing range of Huo Yuhao's Soul Shock, Huo Yuhao moved.

A nearly tangible Soul Shock shot out from Huo Yuhao's Eye of Truth. At the same time, Huo Yuhao sensed that even his eyes, tempered through the cultivation method of the Purple Demon Eye, had suffered minute damage.

That was with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's Spiritual Power already shouldering a considerable portion of the strain. As soul power continuously flowed through Huo Yuhao's body and nourished it, those tiny injuries rapidly healed without leaving a trace.