The Tournament Begins

Seeing such a quantity of high-grade rare metals, Huo Yuhao's expression turned solemn instead.

"What is the meaning of this, Princess? These rare metals are perhaps too generous a gift."

Seeing such a volume of resources, Huo Yuhao immediately understood that the Star Luo Imperial Family must have a request for him, or perhaps they wanted to trade for something.

"Pavilion Master Huo is overthinking it. My imperial brother loves to befriend young talents. He deeply regrets not having made your acquaintance sooner, and this is merely his way of making amends."

Xu Jiujiu responded calmly, pushing the storage rings Huo Yuhao had placed back on the table slightly toward him, signaling that he could accept them without worry.

Having roughly grasped Xu Jiawei's intent to invest, Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to consult Mu En, who had already arrived in Star Luo City.

"Rest assured, it is just a normal investment. Every generation of Star Luo emperors has provided the academy with some level of funding, though I did not expect Xu Jiawei to think so highly of you."

Receiving Mu En's reply, Huo Yuhao no longer hesitated and accepted the two storage rings.

"Then I thank the Princess and your brother. If I have any spare Two-Word Battle Armor in the future, I will certainly trade with him first."

Xu Jiujiu nodded at these words, stood up, and performed a standard courtly bow to Huo Yuhao before departing with the two Title Douluo.

Xu Jiujiu naturally understood that one should not be overly hasty. Now that a connection with Huo Yuhao had been established, lingering any longer would only make her appear to have ulterior motives.

After Xu Jiujiu left, Huo Yuhao found Mu En through his spiritual power, intending to seek advice from this knowledgeable senior.

"Yuhao, you've come at the right time. I was just about to talk to you. I will share more of my experience in dealing with people during this period. You are still young, after all, and some interest-based relationships are not yet clear to you."

Huo Yuhao nodded, intending to devote some energy to this. After all, in his past life, he was merely a young man, and such exchanges of interests were still somewhat complex for him.

However, Huo Yuhao felt quite good looking at these rare metals, as he had already consumed a large amount during his previous Spirit Forging period.

Shrek Academy's supply of rare metals was not exactly abundant. It was not that the academy lacked money, but rather that some rare metals were controlled by the Sun Moon Empire.

Originally, because the rare metals required for some Three-Word Battle Armor were difficult to obtain, Huo Yuhao had been preparing to find time to visit the Sun Moon Empire to scavenge some.

The batch of metals sent by Xu Jiawei now solved Huo Yuhao's urgent need; not only could his Soul Forging practice continue, but he also had all the materials needed for Three-Word Battle Armor.

Huo Yuhao looked at the ten-thousand-year luck surrounding him again, feeling a bit emotional. This child of destiny was truly unreasonable.

After a few short days of a disciplined life combining study, cultivation, and forging, Huo Yuhao awaited the arrival of Wang Yan.

The All-Continent Soul Master Tournament was finally about to begin. A legend of an era was about to unfold before everyone's eyes.

As the perennial champions, the Shrek Academy team would be the first to appear in the opening day's elimination round.

With the entry of the Star Luo Emperor, the atmosphere of the entire arena reached its peak.

"The first match of the first round of eliminations: Shrek Academy representative team versus Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy."

As the host's voice faded, the members of Shrek Academy and Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy entered the arena one after another.

The venue was filled with cheers for Shrek, and the seven members of each team stood opposite one another.

As the referee's right hand fell, the match officially began.

Because Dai Yueheng had perished alongside the God of Death's consciousness, Xi Xi had once again become a starting member and was currently standing behind Huo Yuhao.

Xi Xi signaled to the other five members besides Huo Yuhao, and the six of them immediately stepped back, leaving Huo Yuhao exposed at the front.

The members of the opposing Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy were somewhat confused by Shrek Academy's behavior, but they did not hesitate for long, seizing the opportunity to launch an attack.

However, the moment they released their martial souls, a terrifying pressure of spiritual power enveloped the entire arena, forcefully cutting off their offensive.

The seven people facing Huo Yuhao immediately fell to one knee, bracing themselves against the ground as they struggled against this terrifying pressure.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, strolled slowly forward. As he drew closer to the Tianling Soul Master Academy, nine soul rings gradually emerged behind him.

Black, black, black, red, red, red, red, red, red—nine soul rings circled around Huo Yuhao, pulsing rhythmically as he advanced.

The arena suddenly fell into a deathly silence, everyone shocked by Huo Yuhao's nine soul rings, before a deafening roar of cheers erupted once more.

In the stands, the silver-haired Xiao Hongchen looked in shock at the bearded old man sitting in the seat of honor.

"Elder Ma, how is this possible? Can someone really become a Title Douluo before the age of twenty? Even if pushed by medicinal pills, it shouldn't be possible to improve this quickly."

Elder Ma also looked at Huo Yuhao on the field with a grave expression.

"Although I agree with your point, the pressure from just now was likely indeed that of a Title Douluo. I fear this tournament will be difficult for us."

Huo Yuhao looked at the few who were still struggling to hold on, preparing to end the battle in a way that best displayed his own strength.

Huo Yuhao slowly floated into mid-air, once again borrowing his own divine consciousness to activate his Martial Soul Avatar.

However, the Martial Soul Avatar that appeared this time was a pair of giant eyes adorned with faint ice crystals. This was a new characteristic of the Martial Soul Avatar that Huo Yuhao had discovered.

By using his divine consciousness to temporarily fuse a small portion of the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion's martial soul origin into the origin of his Spirit Eye, and then injecting soul power, he could produce a Martial Soul Avatar similar to a martial soul fusion skill.

"Everyone, nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself: the next Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion, Ice Emperor Douluo Huo Yuhao."

As Huo Yuhao's voice fell, everyone looked solemnly at the blue-gold eyes suspended in the sky.

Even through the soul power protective barrier, with the aid of Huo Yuhao's divine consciousness, the powerful pressure gave everyone present a chill down their spines.

The seven members of Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy were closest to the Martial Soul Avatar, and at this moment, there was a hint of despair in their eyes.

Seeing the seven about to be crushed by his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao immediately used a Spiritual Storm to sweep them off the stage.

They were not mortal enemies, and Huo Yuhao did not want to ruin someone's future because of a single match.

However, having used this fused Martial Soul Avatar for the first time, Huo Yuhao was somewhat curious about its power, and he looked at the referee with a sense of eagerness.

But the referee, who only had the cultivation of a Soul Douluo, had long been struggling to breathe under Huo Yuhao's immense spiritual pressure. Seeing Huo Yuhao's intention to act, he hurriedly announced the result of the match, terrified that Huo Yuhao might strike him if he didn't finish the match quickly enough.