Dai Huabin, by contrast, shot him a contemptuous glance. He was clearly just a first-ring nobody, yet his attitude was far too arrogant. Dai Huabin did not even want to waste their Martial Soul Fusion Skill on this round, since they still had to face either Su Qing or Ning Tian's team afterward.
"Yuhao, don't get distracted. Focus on beating him first. Once we win, we'll stomp him into the ground."
Wang Dong urged him softly. He was still quite confident. Dai Huabin would definitely save their Martial Soul Fusion Skill for the final round. As long as they unleashed theirs first and combined it with Xiao Xiao's Soul Skill to block the other team's escape routes, they would soon be able to take all three of them down.
"Okay."
At Wang Dong's reassurance, Huo Yuhao nodded firmly. Knowing he would face Dai Huabin today, he had deliberately stuffed a pocketful of Hidden Weapons into his clothes, especially Dragon Whisker Needles, which could pierce protective energy. After all, Dai Huabin had used White Tiger Protection Barrier more than any other Soul Skill in the previous rounds. As for White Tiger Vajra Transformation, he only used it to boost himself before delivering a decisive blow.
"White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
"Butterfly Goddess's Light!"
Once the referee had led both teams to their respective sides and announced the start of the match, Dai Huabin and Wang Dong immediately used Martial Soul Possession and traded ranged Soul Skills.
The golden orb and white beam collided, erupting in a towering burst of flame at the center of the arena. A shockwave swept dust and smoke across the stage, veiling it in a haze. Zhu Lu, who had been among the three gathered around Dai Huabin, had already vanished.
As an agility-type Soul Master, she had slipped to the edge of the battlefield the instant the explosion went off. Following the plan they had made the previous night, she headed straight for Huo Yuhao at the back of the opposing team. In a three-on-three battle, whichever side lost a member first would fall into a disadvantage, so her target was clear. Even though she was in a position to strike Wang Dong from behind, she held back.
However, aside from his teammates, only Wang Yan knew about Huo Yuhao's Soul Skills. Zhu Lu's sneak attack was therefore doomed to fail. Just as she was about to dart in front of Huo Yuhao, her first Soul Skill, Hell Stab, nearly making contact, two great cauldrons came sweeping in from either side to crush her.
"How did they react so quickly?"
The instant the explosion went off, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing had locked onto Zhu Lu's position. Xiao Xiao had predicted her move and shifted the two Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons to either side of Huo Yuhao, waiting for Zhu Lu to walk right into the trap.
To avoid a mutual elimination, Zhu Lu had no choice but to abandon her attack and keep circling the edge of the battlefield. How could Xiao Xiao let her have her way? In the blink of an eye, all three cauldrons flew at her from different directions.
Zhu Lu sneered at the sight. They were far too slow to hit her! But in the next instant, a sharp pain suddenly flared in her head. In the moment she lost focus, Xiao Xiao's three cauldrons had already reached her.
"I can't dodge! How can this be? Where did that mental attack come from?!"
As the massive cauldrons loomed closer, Zhu Lu instinctively shut her eyes.
"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
At Dai Huabin's shout, the light in front of Zhu Lu suddenly dimmed. A muffled crash followed. When she opened her eyes again, she found Dai Huabin standing in front of her, though she had no idea when he had gotten there. Seeing that she was in poor condition, Dai Huabin was puzzled, but he did not berate her.
"Be more careful next time. In a real fight, I won't be able to spare any attention for you."
Then he turned his gaze toward Huo Yuhao. Zhu Lu had clearly faltered for an instant before clutching her head. She had obviously suffered a mental attack, most likely from Huo Yuhao, whom he had looked down on.
"No wonder you made it this far."
Dai Huabin's eyes flashed with killing intent. He had not expected Huo Yuhao to catch him off guard at such a critical moment. But before he could think it through, a sharp pain in both arms made the veins on his forehead bulge.
The moment he detected Dai Huabin's movements, Huo Yuhao had taken out his Dragon Whisker Needles. He launched them with the technique of a Hidden Weapon almost as soon as Dai Huabin blocked the cauldrons. Seeing the contorted expression on his opponent's face, Huo Yuhao felt a surge of satisfaction.
Of course, Wang Dong had not been idle while the others fought. The moment Dai Huabin left Cui Yajie's side, Wang Dong attacked her. Combining Butterfly Goddess's Light with Wing Blade and spending a third of his Soul Power, he eliminated Cui Yajie outright.
Poor Cui Yajie couldn't understand, even as she left the arena, why Wang Dong was immune to her charm Soul Skill.
The instant Dai Huabin's attention wavered from the searing pain, Huo Yuhao threw out several more Dragon Whisker Needles. This time Dai Huabin reacted in time, but his White Tiger Protection Barrier was easily pierced by the needles. Hit by nearly ten of them, he could no longer tell where the pain was coming from.
He was furious. He no longer cared about winning the final. Right now, he wanted to kill this despicable wretch who had ambushed him with Hidden Weapons.
"Zhu Lu!"
At the sound of Dai Huabin's voice, Zhu Lu immediately understood what he meant and threw herself into his arms. They circulated their Soul Power, black and white currents swirling around them before quickly forming a sphere of alternating colors that enveloped them both. Their Soul Power poured forth, like a vast ocean of black and white. After surging for a brief moment, a massive white tiger with black stripes and purple eyes leaped out of it, setting the spectators' blood racing!
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger!"
"Wang Dong, let's do it too!"
As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu embraced, Huo Yuhao hurriedly called out to Wang Dong. Wang Dong beat his butterfly wings and flew into Huo Yuhao's arms. Like Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, they interwove their Soul Power, and a sphere of blue, purple, and gold enveloped them. Above them, the Light Goddess Butterfly overlapped with the phantom of a huge blue-gold eye. Almost the instant the Hell White Tiger appeared, their fusion plunged down. A beam of golden light shot from the giant eye, leaving a path of brilliant gold in its wake.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill, The Golden Road of Radiance and Ruin!"
The entire arena erupted! A clash between Martial Soul Fusion Skills was unprecedented. This year's freshman assessment was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers! Wang Yan's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets, while Xuan Zi, who had been invited to watch, observed the scene with keen interest.
Du Weilun looked tense. He was genuinely afraid someone might be hurt during the freshman assessment. But when he turned and saw Xuan Zi there too, he immediately relaxed. If Xuan Zi wasn't worried, there probably wasn't a problem. With that thought, he settled in to enjoy the match as well.
The entire audience watched the dazzling Soul Skill lights flashing across the stage as two Martial Soul Fusion Skills collided, nearly forgetting to breathe.
"Heh, child's play!"
The Hell White Tiger let out a roar and charged straight at Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao as they performed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. The Hell White Tiger had been famous across the continent for ten thousand years. How could it possibly lose to a fusion of a butterfly and an eye? The more Dai Huabin thought about it, the more determined he became to crush them head-on.
The Hell White Tiger charged straight into the Golden Road. But the instant they made contact, the two sides' Martial Soul Fusion Skills instantly came apart. The pair hit by the golden light fell to the ground, transformed into golden statues.
"How is this possible?"