Self-Righteous

After the referee announced the results, Huo Yuhao and the other six members of his team walked off the competition stage one after another.

Having already decided to go all-in on his investment, Xu Jiawei could naturally see that this was paving the way for Huo Yuhao to succeed as the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion.

He signaled for the host to bring over a sound-amplification Soul Guidance Device.

"Pavilion Master Huo is truly a young talent. To possess such cultivation at this age—I fear there have been none before you, and it will be hard for there to be any after you."

In the spectator stands, the crowd, unaware of the underlying implications, erupted into cheers once more; Xu Jiawei's praise only fueled their fervor.

However, the leaders of the various Soul Master academies fell into deep thought, especially those representing the Dio Academy of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Douling Royal Academy of the Douling Empire.

Judging by Xu Jiawei's stance today, he had already begun to place his bets on Huo Yuhao.

Yet, Huo Yuhao was currently only the successor to the Sea God Pavilion; for the emperor to draw so close to him this early made it difficult not to overthink the situation.

Seeing Xu Jiawei offer such flattery, Huo Yuhao naturally wouldn't deny him face, so he responded:

"It is merely a bit of talent. However, we are determined to secure the championship of this Soul Master Tournament."

"Good. Then, once Pavilion Master Huo leads the academy to victory, we shall discuss things in detail at the awards ceremony."

Xu Jiawei replied with a beaming smile before departing with the empress and a group of officials.

Xiao Hongchen looked at the solemn-faced Elder Ma with some confusion.

"Elder Ma, what is wrong with you? You look as if something terrible has happened. It's just the Star Luo Emperor engaging in the usual mutual flattery with Shrek Academy."

"I don't think that Huo Yuhao is necessarily a Limit Douluo; he might just be a Soul Saint with powerful mental strength. With the martial soul fusion skill that Meng and I possess as our trump card, the outcome is still uncertain."

Listening to Xiao Hongchen, Elder Ma's expression did not change; he remained frowning as he explained:

"Did you not notice that the Star Luo Emperor kept addressing Huo Yuhao as Pavilion Master Huo? His tone throughout was that of an equal."

"Shrek Academy likely has some major moves we are unaware of, and seeing this, I am actually starting to believe that Huo Yuhao really is a Limit Douluo."

Hearing Elder Ma praise Huo Yuhao so highly, Xiao Hongchen immediately revealed an arrogant and rebellious expression.

"Elder Ma, you really grow more timid with age. You're getting all worked up over such a small matter. I'm going to go see exactly what kind of cultivation Huo Yuhao has today."

Before Elder Ma could stop him, Xiao Hongchen headed straight in the direction Huo Yuhao had left.

Seeing this, Elder Ma could no longer sit still. Xiao Hongchen was the grandson of the Mingde Hall master; he could not afford for anything to happen to him here, so he immediately gave chase.

However, when Elder Ma wasn't looking, a flash of sharp light flickered in Xiao Hongchen's eyes.

On his way back to his room, Huo Yuhao saw Xiao Hongchen and Elder Ma, who had just caught up to him.

Not giving Elder Ma a chance to speak, Xiao Hongchen stepped forward and questioned him in a somewhat arrogant tone:

"You shouldn't be a Limit Douluo, right? Not to mention that you look at most fourteen or fifteen years old, even if you are pushing the age limit of the tournament, you couldn't possibly have level 90 cultivation."

"More importantly, your soul rings—not even a Limit Douluo could turn their first soul ring black, let alone possess six hundred-thousand-year soul rings. It's obvious at a glance that they are fake."

"Self-righteous."

Hearing Xiao Hongchen's confident speculation, Huo Yuhao replied casually without stopping his pace. Given their temporarily hostile stance, there was no need for him to explain anything to Xiao Hongchen.

Just as Elder Ma breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Xiao Hongchen continue his reckless remarks.

"Pushing you to the forefront so urgently—could it be that your previous Pavilion Master is nearing the end of his life?"

"I estimate he won't last more than two years, which is why they are sparing no effort to build up your momentum. Looking at it this way, Shrek Academy is just a paper tiger."

"Why not wait until our Sun Moon Empire wipes out the Douluo Three Kingdoms and join our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy? By then, you could still..."

Before Xiao Hongchen could finish his sentence, Huo Yuhao stopped in his tracks and cut him off.

"You are quite interesting. Congratulations on achieving your goal of probing me, but you will need to pay the price for it."

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao merely glanced at Xiao Hongchen, and the latter collapsed to the ground clutching his head, letting out a heart-wrenching wail.

At that moment, Xiao Hongchen felt as if ten thousand needles were piercing his mind one by one. Yet, his consciousness remained painfully clear, making it impossible for him to even pass out.

Elder Ma, seeing this, became frantic. In his anxiety, he chose to strike at Huo Yuhao directly.

Huo Yuhao activated his Battle Armor and, after using his Simulation soul skill to hide its presence, projected the aura of the God of Death from within his Spirit Sea.

Combining his soul power and mental strength into the simulated aura of the God of Death, Huo Yuhao coated his hand with it.

Watching Elder Ma rush toward him, Huo Yuhao used his mental pressure to slow him down before slapping him across the face.

Elder Ma was instantly sent flying by the blow, slamming heavily into the hotel floor with half his body embedded in the ground.

His mind suffered a severe blow; images of mountains of corpses and seas of blood assaulted his Spirit Sea, as if he had spent ten years living in hell.

As the illusion ended and he regained his senses, Elder Ma gasped for air, forcing himself to face Huo Yuhao.

"Pavilion Master Huo, this was our fault. But Xiao Hongchen is the grandson of Mingde Hall master Jing Hongchen. I ask that you show mercy for the sake of Mingde Hall and let this matter pass."

Huo Yuhao snorted coldly, glancing casually at the two men lying on the ground.

"Don't talk about a mere level 8 Soul Engineer like you; even if Jing Hongchen himself came, if I want to kill, no one can protect this brat."

"One level 8 Soul Guidance Device to buy his life, or neither of you will be leaving."

Having witnessed the Shura-like purgatory aura Huo Yuhao possessed, Elder Ma dared not hesitate and immediately handed over the Judgment Sword he had brought on the trip.

Huo Yuhao took the Judgment Sword, looked at it with satisfaction, and then ignored the two of them as he turned and left.

Back in his room, feeling the simulated aura of the God of Death, Huo Yuhao continued to refine it.

The Heaven and Earth Level technique wasn't always useful, but in the face of such provocation, it was enough to win.

However, Elder Ma also knew that he couldn't possibly kill them. After all, a person's aura was a manifestation of their convictions, and this level 8 Soul Guidance Device was now gone.

Elder Ma took Xiao Hongchen to find a Soul Master from the Star Luo Empire for treatment; after all, if Xiao Hongchen were truly left mentally damaged, he would be in deep trouble.

Truly self-righteous. If Huo Yuhao didn't have the strength of a Limit Douluo, how could Shrek Academy possibly push him to the forefront?

Thinking I could help you probe Huo Yuhao's background, and look what happened. Explain the matter of the Judgment Sword to your grandfather yourself; it was his own Soul Guidance Device anyway.

Watching Xiao Hongchen gradually recover, Elder Ma, no longer worried about his own future, thought mockingly to himself.