On the Soul Fighting Arena, the referee had still been wondering whether he should find someone stronger to take over. After all, he was only a Seven-Ring Soul Sage himself.
If these two Inner Academy prodigies really got carried away, he might not be able to control the situation.
But now that Xuan Zi had arrived, he no longer had any concerns.
"Inner Academy sparring match. Stop once one side has the advantage."
"Begin!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, flames burst from Ma Xiaotao.
Two yellow, two purple, and two black Soul Rings rose around her.
Dark red flames spread, and the temperature across the entire Soul Fighting Arena shot up in an instant.
Dai Yueheng released his Martial Soul too, activating White Tiger Possession in a flash.
His body grew taller, his arms thickened, white fur spread across his skin, and markings appeared on his forehead.
Six Soul Rings rose around him as well.
The crowd below erupted in gasps.
Was this the peak combat strength of the Inner Academy seniors?
Compared with this, the Outer Academy students' usual fights looked like children playing house.
While everyone was still in shock, Dai Yueheng made the first move.
His Soul Rings flashed, and he activated two enhancement Soul Skills in an instant.
First Soul Skill: White Tiger Protection Barrier.
Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
Facing Ma Xiaotao, he held nothing back.
Dai Yueheng knew that once the madwoman Ma Xiaotao started fighting, she wouldn't give him time to slowly probe her strength.
So he could only go all out from the very beginning and try to end the fight quickly.
The next moment, Dai Yueheng pushed off and charged at Ma Xiaotao.
At the same time, the Second Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed.
White Tiger Intense Light Wave!
A white beam packed with terrifying Soul Power shot straight toward Ma Xiaotao's chest.
But faced with Dai Yueheng's attack, Ma Xiaotao couldn't even be bothered to dodge. A Soul Ring flashed beneath her feet as well.
Only, she used her First Soul Ring—and her First Soul Skill.
Phoenix Fire Line!
The two energy attacks, condensed from Soul Power, collided in midair. The resulting shockwave sent the students in the front rows stumbling back several steps.
When the students looked up again, they found the attacks had actually canceled each other out!
On the surface, they had fought to a draw, but in reality, Dai Yueheng had lost that exchange.
After all, he had used his Second Soul Skill, while Ma Xiaotao had only used her First.
Ultimate Fire was terrifying indeed!!
Apparently finished warming up, Ma Xiaotao spread her wings and shot into the air. She didn't forget to taunt him as she rose.
"Dai Yueheng, is that all you've got?"
"Trying to tickle me?"
Dai Yueheng's expression darkened.
He stamped his foot, and his Fourth Soul Ring lit up.
White Tiger Meteor Shower!
A vast number of white spheres rose into the air, then rained down toward Ma Xiaotao.
Dai Yueheng couldn't let Ma Xiaotao wear him down from above. If that happened, he would lose for sure.
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao laughed even more arrogantly.
She laughed at Dai Yueheng for having neither brains nor a plan.
Who in the Inner Academy didn't know that Ma Xiaotao was famous for her short temper?
She had no interest in fighting a battle of attrition.
If she was going to fight,
she'd go head-on!!
So, under everyone's dumbfounded gaze, Ma Xiaotao's Fifth Soul Ring lit up.
Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!
She charged through White Tiger Meteor Shower with flames blazing around her and barreled straight toward Dai Yueheng.
Dai Yueheng crossed his arms to block.
Boom!
He was knocked back seven or eight steps, his feet carving long tracks across the arena floor.
The spectators below sucked in a collective breath.
Gongyang Mo shook his head as he watched.
"Sister Xiaotao's being absurdly fierce today."
"If she fought like this before, her Evil Fire should've flared up ages ago."
Ling Luochеn stood at the back of the crowd without saying a word.
Unlike the others, she wasn't concerned with who won or lost on the arena. She was more concerned about Huo Yuhao below.
The aura of Ultimate Ice around Huo Yuhao had disappeared.
But Ling Luochen firmly believed that her instincts couldn't be wrong.
If Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul really was Ultimate Ice, that would explain why Ma Xiaotao was in such good shape.
After all, only Ultimate Ice could truly suppress Ultimate Fire.
After turning it over in her mind, Ling Luochen felt that she had almost figured out the truth.
If Huo Yuhao heard her theory, he could only have given it a brief assessment.
Every step of the reasoning was wrong, but the conclusion was right.
Who could you even tell that to?
On the Soul Fighting Arena, Dai Yueheng had been riled up.
He stopped holding back his Soul Power, and his Fifth and Sixth Soul Rings lit up.
White Tiger Demon God Transformation!
White Tiger Destruction Kill!
Dai Yueheng's aura surged, and he became even more imposing.
With his Sixth Soul Skill backed by three enhancement skills, he now looked like a demon god.
Seeing this, the fighting spirit in Ma Xiaotao's eyes burned even brighter.
"Now you're talking!"
A head-on fight was exactly what she wanted!!
So her Sixth Soul Ring lit up.
Phoenix Meteor Shower!
Flames rained down from above, covering half the Soul Fighting Arena.
Gritting his teeth, Dai Yueheng charged out of the sea of flames. The Soul Power protecting his body wavered violently as it burned.
He forced his way close to Ma Xiaotao, his tiger claws slashing toward her shoulder.
Ma Xiaotao simply kicked out.
Thud!
Dai Yueheng took the blow to the chest and flew backward.
But before he could land, Ma Xiaotao pushed off and was already after him.
She seized Dai Yueheng by the collar and drove a knee into him.
Dai Yueheng didn't react in time. He took the hit head-on with a muffled grunt, then immediately counterattacked with his tiger claws.
The two of them began trading blows at close range.
Fists, claws, flames, Soul Power—their impacts rang out without pause.
The Outer Academy students watched with their scalps prickling.
Was this a spar?
This was a real fight!!
A fight to the death!!
Were the Inner Academy seniors all this vicious?!
Even Tang Ya couldn't help muttering under her breath.
"Senior Xiaotao's way too fierce..."
Bei Bei glanced at her.
"Don't you learn from her."
At that, Tang Ya immediately glared at him, thoroughly unconvinced.
"How am I that fierce?"
"..."
Bei Bei chose to stay silent.
Silence spoke louder than words.
Tang Ya quickly caught on and reached out to pinch him.
"Bei Bei, what's that supposed to mean?"
Bei Bei had no choice but to hastily admit defeat.
"No, no. Xiao Ya's the gentlest."
"That's more like it!"
Xuan Zi, sitting nearby, had been force-fed a mouthful of their lovey-dovey sweetness. The chicken leg in his hand suddenly lost its appeal, so he turned his attention back to the arena and offered a couple of comments.
"That girl Xiaotao's been controlling her Evil Fire pretty well lately. There's not the slightest sign of backlash."
"That Dai kid from the Dai Family did a decent job with that attack. It's a shame he missed by a little..."
Before Xuan Zi could offer many more comments, the fight on the arena was already nearing its end.
Dai Yueheng was strong, but Ma Xiaotao was in far too good a state right now.
Her Evil Fire wasn't holding her back, and her explosive power was fully unleashed.
The longer they fought, the more frustrated Dai Yueheng became.
He tried several times to create some distance, but Ma Xiaotao forced him back every time.
In the end, Ma Xiaotao caught the gap between his Soul Power attacks. Phoenix Flame coiled around her right fist, and she slammed it into Dai Yueheng's stomach.
Dai Yueheng doubled over and slid more than ten meters before crashing into the Protective Soul Guidance Barrier at the edge of the Soul Fighting Arena.
The barrier shuddered.
Dai Yueheng dropped to one knee and tried to stand, but the taste of blood welled up in his throat.
Ma Xiaotao landed in front of him and raised a hand, withdrawing her flames.
She didn't pursue him. Instead, she asked him,
"Do you give in?"
Dai Yueheng looked up at Ma Xiaotao, his expression utterly grim.
But with so many people watching below,
he could only admit it.
He had lost this time.
If he kept going, he'd only suffer injuries he didn't need.
After weighing the pros and cons, Dai Yueheng took a few breaths to recover before standing up. He said helplessly,
"I lost."
Ma Xiaotao gave a snort and warned him again.
"Remember this."
"Don't go after Huo Yuhao again!"
"Whether you want to recruit him or throw your seniority around, stay the hell away from him!!"
Dai Yueheng clenched his fist, then relaxed it.
With Xuan Zi right below, he couldn't afford to say anything else out of line.
"Fine."
"Let's leave it at that."
Only then did Ma Xiaotao turn and leave the arena.
The crowd below erupted at once.
The Outer Academy students looked at Ma Xiaotao with admiration, while their gazes toward Huo Yuhao grew even more complicated.
An Outer Academy freshman had gotten Ma Xiaotao to beat Dai Yueheng in front of everyone for his sake.
What kind of treatment was that?
It was beyond their imagination.
Up in the stands, Xuan Zi swayed as he got to his feet and left the Soul Fighting Zone.
Only this time, he had truly remembered Huo Yuhao's name.
This Little Monster sure had made a lot of noise.
Although the whole affair had been a little gossipy, the name of Huo Yuhao, the new student, had finally become famous across the academy.
From then on, with Ma Xiaotao's reputation behind him, Huo Yuhao finally enjoyed a relatively peaceful stretch.
By his reckoning, he had only been at the academy for nearly two weeks.
In those two weeks, almost everything that had happened in the Outer Academy had been connected to him.
No wonder Xuan Zi had grumbled that he really was a Little Monster.
And so, about another week passed.
They were in the middle of a normal class when Du Weilun, the dean of studies, suddenly came in and interrupted Mu Jin's lecture.
As everyone looked on in confusion, Du Weilun whispered something in Mu Jin's ear. Her expression changed, and then she looked toward Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and said,
"Wang Dong, come out for a moment. Someone from your family is here to see you."
Family?
At the word, the trace of drowsiness Huo Yuhao had been feeling vanished instantly.
Wang Dong's family?
Holy crap!
God King!!
Before you continue