Iron Will

"The match begins!" After making the announcement from the center, the referee immediately retreated, leaving the field to the competitors.

The instant the match began, a black figure darted out from behind Dai Huabin. It was Zhu Lu, and her target was Huo Yuhao, who had used only his first soul skill in the previous matches.

Wang Dong was about to intercept the charging Zhu Lu when Huo Yuhao suddenly dashed out from behind her.

"This arena is huge. If I spread Phantom Silk Entanglement out completely, it'll consume too much Soul Power. Let's face them head-on first." As Huo Yuhao swept past Wang Dong, he spoke swiftly into her ear while sending his spiritual intent into Xiao Xiao's mind.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance, then immediately moved apart.

Although Huo Yuhao charged out first, he did not head toward Zhu Lu. Instead, he went straight for Dai Huabin.

Xiao Xiao's support came at exactly the right time. Even without Spiritual Detection, she still possessed an extremely sharp sense of timing. The moment Zhu Lu turned back after Huo Yuhao swept past her, Xiao Xiao used one Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to trap her beneath it.

"Shake you to death!" Xiao Xiao shouted. Then, she controlled the other two Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons and slammed them fiercely into the cauldron covering Zhu Lu.

A violent buzzing reverberated within the cauldron. When Xiao Xiao recalled it, a puddle of vomit had appeared at Zhu Lu's feet.

She had clearly been shaken badly; even her gaze was unfocused.

Zhu Lu wiped the corner of her mouth, her face flushing and paling in turns. A vicious glint appeared in her eyes as she looked at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao stuck out her tongue at her, then crooked a finger provocatively. "Come on, you little dumb cat!"

Seeing that something was wrong with Zhu Lu, Dai Huabin could no longer focus on the ongoing battle. He barked, "Zhu Lu! Don't forget the tactics!"

At that moment, Wang Dong beat the wings of her Light Goddess Butterfly and slashed toward Dai Huabin, while the third member of their team, Cui Yajie, completed her Martial Soul Possession.

Cui Yajie's martial soul was a fox. In a sense, this was exploiting a loophole: her assault-type stats had been registered as those of a control-type soul master. That was why Dai Huabin's team had encountered no resistance at all before facing Huo Yuhao's group.

It was equivalent to having two assault-types, one of them a Soul Elder and the other a Soul Grandmaster, plus an agility attack-type to make up the damage.

At least among their peers in Douluo Two, few could easily shake such a lineup.

Using the physical abilities granted by Martial Soul Possession, Cui Yajie blocked Wang Dong's attack. Then, after Dai Huabin shouted, clarity immediately returned to Zhu Lu's eyes.

She actually gave up on attacking Xiao Xiao and instead turned to rush at Huo Yuhao's back.

"Second Soul Skill, Hell Hundred Claws!" Zhu Lu cried. Dark netherworld power extended from her hands and condensed into long claws that tore wildly toward Huo Yuhao's back.

In an instant, claw shadows filled the air behind Huo Yuhao like blowing snow, striking at his body from every direction.

Huo Yuhao snorted coldly. Then, a golden eye opened on his left wrist.

Hidden beneath his school uniform, no one noticed the change on Huo Yuhao's wrist. When he turned around, a pure golden radiance condensed in his hand. The next moment, with a wave of his hand, it shot toward Zhu Lu.

The power of this strike had already surpassed that of a Soul Elder, reaching the level of a Soul Ancestor's full-force attack.

The referee frowned and was about to intervene, but after the light rapidly dissolved three waves of Hell Hundred Claws, Zhu Lu immediately used her first soul skill, Hell Stab, shifting outside the range of the light.

After forcing Zhu Lu back, Huo Yuhao did not continue pursuing her. Instead, he turned and drove his golden-fisted hand toward Dai Huabin's chest.

Dai Huabin clasped his hands together, and the image of a ferocious tiger emerged around him.

Once the character for king on his forehead fully appeared, he suddenly opened his mouth. Clusters of light, nearly sharing the same origin as Huo Yuhao's yet of a lower level, rained down toward Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao briefly crossed his hands before him. The golden kingly aura interacted between his palms, and then both of his hands became plated in gold.

With a sweep of his hands, Huo Yuhao swatted away every incoming White Tiger Intense Light Wave as though he were batting flies.

Defending against the White Tiger Intense Light Waves in this manner, Huo Yuhao continued advancing toward Dai Huabin.

Dai Huabin frowned, then threw a punch at Huo Yuhao. The strength of a beast martial soul assault-type Soul Elder was not to be underestimated; this punch even produced a sonic boom.

However, Huo Yuhao had fused with the Titan Snow Demon King's right arm soul bone. He merely raised his right hand and collided with Dai Huabin's fist for an instant.

A fierce shockwave erupted between them, forcing Cui Yajie and Wang Dong, who were still locked in combat nearby, back several steps.

Zhu Lu looked at Dai Huabin and fell into hesitation. At the very instant she wavered, the black Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron descended from above once more.

"Your move is really filthy!" Zhu Lu shouted furiously. Then she used Hell Stab again and swiftly appeared beside Dai Huabin.

Without hesitation, she kicked at Huo Yuhao's right wrist, which was gripping Dai Huabin's left hand.

Huo Yuhao released his hold with the momentum, then tapped a finger against Zhu Lu's forehead.

A trace of ice element belonging to the Titan Snow Demon King surged through Huo Yuhao's finger and into Zhu Lu's forehead. Zhu Lu shuddered violently from the sudden chill, and even her connection to her martial soul was briefly severed.

"Huabin, use Plan Two directly!" Zhu Lu said quietly to Dai Huabin, enduring her discomfort.

Dai Huabin's gaze swept over Cui Yajie, who was caught in a hard battle. Then he nodded and reached out to take Zhu Lu's hand.

Two streams of Soul Power met and fused in midair. The next moment, amid a blazing flash, a gigantic white tiger appeared on the battlefield.

The instant the white tiger appeared, it lunged forward. Yet its target was not Huo Yuhao; instead, it slapped its paw against the chest of Wang Dong, who was relentlessly attacking Cui Yajie.

"Pfft!" Caught off guard, Wang Dong took the tiger's claw squarely in the chest and violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Huo Yuhao could not help glancing instinctively toward the sky. It remained azure and clear, without the slightest sign that anything was amiss.

Xiao Xiao was in for it now. After severely injuring Wang Dong with one blow, the Hell White Tiger immediately clawed toward Xiao Xiao, who had been consuming and disrupting them from the rear with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron.

Just as the Hell White Tiger's claw hung above Xiao Xiao's head, its shadow completely engulfing her and about to fall and heavily injure her as well, a humanlike expression of surprise suddenly appeared on its face.

At that moment, one of Huo Yuhao's hands had already grabbed the Hell White Tiger's tail. His second soul ring flashed once.

"Iron Will, activate!"