"So, when you said you'd take responsibility before, you were just humoring me?"
Ma Xiaotao crossed her arms, danger flickering in her eyes.
Long Yaochen said nothing. He took a step forward and moved right in front of Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao was startled by his sudden action and instinctively tried to step back, but Long Yaochen grabbed her and held her in place.
Long Yaochen's scorching breath brushed against her face, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
"You..." Ma Xiaotao was about to speak when she was interrupted. Long Yaochen's outstretched index finger pressed before her red lips.
Ma Xiaotao fell silent.
She stared blankly at the handsome youth before her.
At some point, he had nearly grown as tall as her.
The warmth of the hand on her shoulder, and those black eyes level with hers, filled with gentle affection...
Her heart was beating... Why was it beating so fast?
That was the only thought left in Ma Xiaotao's mind.
"We have an engagement. What are you afraid of?" Long Yaochen's lips curved slightly. "Besides, the match is this afternoon. Shouldn't I see how strong my opponents are? You care so little about your fiancé?"
Only by accusing first could one stand on the moral high ground.
"I... How could I not?!" Ma Xiaotao turned her head away, but the tips of her ears had turned bright red.
Seeing this, Long Yaochen released her. As he smoothed the wrinkles from her shoulder, he said softly, "I know you mean well. Just remember to watch how I beat up those little kids this afternoon."
"You're that confident you'll win?"
Under Long Yaochen's assault, Ma Xiaotao no longer looked as though she had come to demand an explanation. She had become much gentler.
"It's in the bag."
Long Yaochen smiled faintly.
Even without the Martial Soul Fusion Skill from the original story, Long Yaochen was rather curious about how Huo Yuhao would defeat the Hell White Tiger.
But his intuition told him that Huo Yuhao would probably win.
Defeating the Hell White Tiger might take some effort, but defeating Huo Yuhao...
He would beat Huo Yuhao back to reality.
As Long Yaochen pondered, the match below officially began.
Six figures faced one another on the Soul Fighting Platform.
Dai Huabin stepped forward, his face full of disdain. He raised his chin slightly and said, "You're pretty lucky. A piece of trash like you actually stumbled into the finals."
He sneered. His voice was not loud, yet it was enough for the entire arena to hear.
"Looks like you want to personally show filial devotion to this young master. How thoughtful of you."
Huo Yuhao did not move at all. He fixed Dai Huabin with those deep blue eyes as though he were looking at a dead man.
"Dai Huabin." He spoke one word at a time. "You'd better pray that you don't fall into my hands today."
"Oh?" Dai Huabin raised a brow and laughed instead. "With you?"
"I'll make you pay some interest on behalf of the White Tiger Duke Mansion first," Huo Yuhao said coldly.
The smile on Dai Huabin's face gradually vanished.
That little bastard's gaze made him inexplicably uncomfortable.
"The match begins!"
The instant the referee's words fell, Dai Huabin moved.
White Tiger Possession. Three Soul Rings lit up one after another, and his entire body became a streak of white light as he lunged straight at Huo Yuhao.
At the same time, milky white light began gathering around his mouth.
He would take down this little bastard with barely a dozen Soul Power levels first, then see whether he could still act so arrogant.
Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave!
A milky white energy wave shot directly toward Huo Yuhao.
"Second Soul Skill, Butterfly Goddess's Light!"
Boom—!
The milky white light wave collided with a violet-gold light wave in the center of the arena, instantly erupting in a thunderous blast.
After blocking the White Tiger Intense Light Wave, Wang Dong beat her wings and charged directly at Dai Huabin.
Although she hated Huo Yuhao, she had no choice but to protect him if they wanted to win.
Bang—
Butterfly wings and tiger claws clashed head-on. Wang Dong was knocked half a step back, her feet carving two shallow grooves into the platform.
He really was a three-ring Soul Elder.
Wang Dong sighed inwardly. Her first Soul Skill lit up as she slashed at Dai Huabin.
After several exchanges, with Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection, Wang Dong barely managed to hold him back, though she was at a slight disadvantage.
But being able to restrain this Soul Elder was basically enough.
On the other side, Zhu Lu was just about to offer support when her feet suddenly grew heavy.
Xiao Xiao's Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron crashed down. Its crushing force descended like a massive net, pinning her firmly in place. Zhu Lu launched three consecutive attacks, but each was forcibly knocked back by the cauldron's body.
The battle had been forcibly divided into several sections.
The only one left unoccupied was Huo Yuhao, standing at the rear.
Cui Yajie's eyes lit up.
Just as Dai Huabin had said, he was trash. She had no idea what he was doing, standing motionless in an arena match.
He only had a single ten-year Soul Ring beneath his feet. It was utterly laughable.
Her figure flashed as she circled around the melee.
The Soul Ring beneath her feet shone. A seductive smile climbed onto her face, and her peach-blossom eyes stared directly into Huo Yuhao's.
Her charm ability was pushed to its limit. Even a Soul Elder would lose focus from that glance.
But the next moment—
Cui Yajie's smile froze.
Her charm entered him like a clay ox sinking into the sea, plunging into an unfathomably deep ocean.
It was as though it had disturbed some mysterious presence within that sea, and that presence slowly opened its eyes.
It felt as though she had been targeted by a hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast. Her blood instantly froze.
"You... What do you think you are?"
Huo Yuhao tilted his head slightly, looking at her as though she were an absurd joke that did not know her own limits.
The moment he raised his hand, a faint glimmer shot soundlessly from between his fingers. Along with it came an invisible burst of Spirit Shock.
Cui Yajie did not even see it clearly before her mind felt as though it had been smashed by a heavy hammer. Her vision went black, and she fell stiffly onto the platform, never rising again.
Clang—!
The referee knocked away the concealed weapon Huo Yuhao had thrown.
This sight instantly drew the attention of everyone still locked in battle.
Dai Huabin's pupils suddenly contracted.
What did that bastard do?!
Cui Yajie had been instantly defeated, Zhu Lu was held back, and in the blink of an eye, he was the only one left on his side.
No.
If this continued, they really might lose.
"Zhu Lu!" Dai Huabin roared.
Hearing him, Zhu Lu's Soul Rings flared brightly. She found an opening in the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron and instantly became a streak of dark light, racing straight toward Dai Huabin.
Not good!
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong both sensed trouble almost simultaneously.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's figures crossed in midair.
Two utterly different powers, one white and one black, fused together as though they had always been one.
The next instant, a tiger's roar shook the arena.
A massive tiger, snow-white from head to toe and covered in dark patterns, stepped through the Soul Power storm and slowly emerged from the light and shadows.
The Hell White Tiger appeared!
Intense Soul Power fluctuations erupted in the center of the arena, making Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's expressions turn grave. Huo Yuhao, however, remained as calm as ever.
Wang Dong's vision blurred, and a tiger paw shrouded in black aura slammed heavily into her side.
Smack—
Her light wings trembled violently. Wang Dong was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing hard into the edge of the platform as blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"Wang Dong!" Xiao Xiao's expression changed drastically.
As she used the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to delay the Hell White Tiger's attack for Wang Dong, she anxiously shouted at Huo Yuhao:
"Huo Yuhao, hurry and think of something!"
At that very moment, a gentle voice sounded faintly from the depths of Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit.
"Yuhao, let them see your true strength!"
Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head.
The trace of ocean blue in his eyes was suddenly ignited by a dazzling blue-gold gleam.
The light blazed—
In the stands, Long Yaochen finally straightened up.
"It's here."
Before you continue