The Stripped-Down Xu Sanshi

Huo Yuhao's attack had failed to land. Taking advantage of Xu Sanshi's lingering fear, he quietly retreated a few steps.

Facing a Soul Elder, the gap of more than twenty levels in Soul Power made Huo Yuhao realize that purely physical attacks probably wouldn't do much to Xu Sanshi.

After all, Xu Sanshi was a genuine three-ring Soul Elder with a top-tier defensive Martial Soul.

If he let Xu Sanshi drag things out and they competed in the depth of their Soul Power, he would clearly be at a disadvantage.

With his current Soul Power, he couldn't keep many of his jutsu going for long.

Still too weak. Tsk, I can't even take down a Soul Elder in one strike.

Huo Yuhao shook his head in dissatisfaction, and his resolve to enter Shrek and seize the Life Source grew stronger.

If that was the case, and he wanted to decide the winner, he had no choice but to use blitz tactics. Huo Yuhao made up his mind.

He'd finish him in the next round!

With that move!

Huo Yuhao's gaze sharpened.

Xu Sanshi slowly approached. Huo Yuhao lowered his head and didn't move.

When Xu Sanshi was nearly ten meters away—

Now!

Huo Yuhao abruptly raised his head.

His million-year Soul Skill, Soul Shock, erupted alongside Sharingan Genjutsu.

Xu Sanshi seemed dazed. His expression froze, and he stood rooted to the spot.

Huo Yuhao used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing behind Xu Sanshi.

Then he thrust out his right hand. The next moment, lightning flashed!

Sparks of electricity gathered in Huo Yuhao's right hand, covering his entire arm in an instant.

The lightning twisted and leaped, ringing out with a sound like a thousand birds crying.

A one-of-a-kind piercing lightning attack, an A-rank jutsu—Chidori!

"Chidori!" Huo Yuhao shouted, thrusting mercilessly toward Xu Sanshi!

Xu Sanshi was terrified out of his wits. He tried to turn and defend himself, but it was already too late.

The lightning around Huo Yuhao's right hand broke through the black glow surrounding Xu Sanshi in an instant and sank deep into his lower back.

"Ugh!" Xu Sanshi's whole body convulsed with pain, and he involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood.

He desperately tried to summon the Soul Power he had left, hoping to unleash a Soul Skill and strike back at Huo Yuhao, but he found himself paralyzed from head to toe. He couldn't move a single finger.

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. The lightning around his right hand blazed once more as he poured in all the Soul Power he had left.

Chidori consumed a tremendous amount of Soul Power. With his current level of fifteen, even using the technique at all was a struggle.

In turn, Chidori's power had been greatly reduced.

Now Huo Yuhao was wringing every last drop of Soul Power from himself to leave Xu Sanshi severely injured.

The next strike wouldn't take Xu Sanshi's life, but it would make him pay a heavy price.

Huo Yuhao wasn't some saint. He had no habit of repaying evil with kindness.

He believed in only one principle: if someone wronged him, he would repay them a hundredfold!

Then his right hand swept down like lightning, ready to strike Xu Sanshi hard once more.

"Show mercy!" a gentle voice suddenly called.

At the same time, a woman in a white dress appeared out of nowhere beside Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi.

Huo Yuhao's hand stopped abruptly. A hand as soft as fine jade clasped his wrist. Its fingers were long and pale, its skin smooth as cream. The woman holding him wasn't using much strength, yet Huo Yuhao couldn't move forward at all.

An invisible halo also sealed off the lightning around his hand, leaving it unable to threaten her.

Huo Yuhao turned his head and was surprised to find the woman standing beside him was the same one in white who had brought him to Shrek City that day!

His pupils contracted sharply. The woman before him didn't look very old, yet her cultivation was unfathomable.

At the very least, Huo Yuhao couldn't stand against her in his current state.

The lightning around Huo Yuhao's hand slowly faded. Without showing it, he withdrew his hand from the woman's grasp.

With an expressionless face, he said, "Well, would you look at that, sister. Fancy meeting you again. But what do you mean by stopping me now?"

Zhang Lexuan smiled, doing her best to keep her voice gentle. "Yuhao, we actually came looking for you. We've been searching for you for a long time. We didn't expect you to be running a little food stall here. Fortunately, you made such a commotion, or we might never have found you."

Huo Yuhao frowned in confusion. "Looking for me? What for?"

At that moment, Xu Sanshi, who had been lying paralyzed on the ground after taking Huo Yuhao's Chidori, finally regained the ability to move. He endured the agony, clutched his injured lower back, and turned around.

The instant he saw the woman in white, his lips trembled. His face filled with terror. "S-Senior Sister!"

Zhang Lexuan looked at Xu Sanshi, her expression stern. "An Outer Court student attacked a commoner in public without any valid reason. Does that really befit a student of Shrek Academy? You know what happens under Shrek's rules, don't you?"

Xu Sanshi looked flustered. Shrek Academy's rules stated that a student involved in a situation like this would be expelled. At the thought of it, sweat poured from his head.

"I, I, Senior Sister..."

Xu Sanshi stood frozen, stammering without answering.

On the other side, the crowd had already erupted into an uproar.

"Who is that? A One-Ring Soul Master actually beat a three-ring Soul Elder! Am I seeing things?"

"And not just any three-ring Soul Elder—he's a student of Shrek Academy! That One-Ring Soul Master is just a street food vendor."

"A monster! Now that's a real monster! Could he be a student of Shrek Academy too?"

Everyone chattered excitedly.

There were quite a few Shrek students among the onlookers. They couldn't help frowning. Who was this guy? A first-year freshman? They'd never seen him before.

Among the crowd were many students who were Xu Sanshi's classmates or knew him. They stared wide-eyed, mouths hanging open.

Xu Sanshi had lost?

That was Xu Sanshi!

There were only a handful of people in the Outer Court who could beat him. How had he lost just like that?

And his opponent was a One-Ring Soul Master.

What kind of joke was this?

Jiang Nannan, standing off to the side, covered her mouth in disbelief.

That young man who'd been grilling fish had beaten Xu Sanshi until he was sprawled on the ground. It was too surreal!

What on earth had happened? She hadn't understood much of the fight at all.

At first, she'd thought Huo Yuhao would be sent flying in a single blow, but that had turned out to be a decoy.

If the decoy was Huo Yuhao's First Soul Skill, then what had the lightning-attribute Soul Skill he used afterward been?

How could he have two Soul Skills?

Could it be a Self-Created Soul Skill?!

But how old was he? How was that possible?

He only had one white Ten-Year Soul Ring.

Jiang Nannan stood rooted to the spot, questioning everything she knew.

Among the onlookers were also some Shrek students with genuinely high cultivation levels, as well as Soul Masters from elsewhere.

They all gave Huo Yuhao a long, searching look.

Xu Sanshi's thoughts were a tangled mess. He couldn't believe he'd lost just like that. In front of such a huge crowd, he'd been beaten by a One-Ring Soul Master so much younger than himself—and hadn't been able to fight back at all.

His opponent was a Soul Master whose First Soul Ring was a white Ten-Year Soul Ring!

And throughout the entire fight, he hadn't even touched his opponent!

No, that's not right. I was careless. If I'd had the chance to use my Second and Third Soul Skills, I would've won.

Would I really have won?

A moment later, Xu Sanshi began doubting himself again.

Then his confidence completely collapsed. He stood there in a daze, head hanging, his mind somewhere else.

"Xu Sanshi, are you really trying to get expelled?" Zhang Lexuan stood to one side and scolded him.

Zhang Lexuan watched him like this and frowned inwardly.

Are the students in Shrek Outer Court really that mentally fragile? He's fallen apart this easily?

She had put Mental Power behind those words.

Only then did Xu Sanshi come to his senses. He realized the price he would have to pay for what he'd done, and sweat poured down his face.

"This junior admits his mistake. Please punish me, Senior Sister."

At that moment, Han Ruoruo stepped out from behind Zhang Lexuan. First, she gave Huo Yuhao a stunned once-over.

Then she quietly sent Zhang Lexuan a voice transmission. "Senior Sister, Xiaotao may still need this person's Martial Soul to help with her Evil Fire. If the Academy really expels him, then Xiaotao..."

After hearing the message, Zhang Lexuan sighed and said, "Why don't you apologize to this young man? If he isn't satisfied, you may have to leave the Academy yourself."

Xu Sanshi froze. I'm the one who got beaten, and I still have to apologize to him?

He was unwilling, but after taking a few deep breaths, he forced a smile. "Sorry, brother. I was in the wrong today. Please forgive me."

Huo Yuhao chuckled. "I forgive you. But one thing has nothing to do with another. You still need to compensate me for the damage to my stall. Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, please."

When Xu Sanshi heard "ten thousand Gold Soul Coins," his expression twisted.

But after a moment, he still took out a pouch and said through gritted teeth, "I, I only have one thousand Gold Soul Coins. Could you take these for now? I'll pay you the rest another day."

Huo Yuhao took the money pouch back and said without the least bit of politeness, "If you don't have enough money, you can make up the difference with something else. Pills, Spirit Bones, Soul Tools—I'll take anything."

Pills? Soul Tools? He even wanted a Spirit Bone? Why not just rob him? Xu Sanshi's face darkened, and he badly wanted to fly into a rage, but his current predicament forced him to lower his head.

Then, with great reluctance, he took a porcelain bottle from his Storage Soul Tool and said, "There's a Black Water Pill from the Black Tortoise Sect inside. Under normal circumstances, it's worth ten thousand Gold Soul Coins. Here, take it."

Huo Yuhao accepted it without hesitation.

Then he patted Xu Sanshi on the shoulder with a broad smile. "Ah, what a misunderstanding, Brother Sanshi. Now that we've cleared things up, though, I have to say, that Storage Soul Tool on your hand looks pretty nice. How about it?"

Xu Sanshi glared viciously at Huo Yuhao, then took off the ring on his hand and handed it to him.

"You're ruthless! Can I go now?" Xu Sanshi ground out through clenched teeth.

"Brother Sanshi, I think your black robe looks pretty nice too..."

"..."