Why does Yuhao smell like a dragon?

The morning mist had yet to disperse, and ripples of light shimmered across Sea God Lake. Yet the atmosphere on the training grounds by the shore was somewhat solemn.

"We're leaving in just one more day." Bei Bei frowned as he looked over the freshly compiled supply list in his hand, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice. "Why isn't Yuhao back yet?"

"Yeah, that kid's got some nerve." Xu Sanshi folded his arms and leaned against a tree. Though his words were as unserious as ever, his eyes kept glancing toward the academy gates. "He said he was going to the Far North for special training. Is a hellhole like that somewhere to mess around? Don't tell me he got frozen into an ice pop and can't come back."

"Shut that crow beak of yours!" Xiao Xiao shot him a glare, then looked worriedly at Wang Dong beside her. "Wang Dong, did Yuhao say anything to you before he left?"

Wang Dong was sitting on a rock by the lake, absentmindedly tossing pebbles in his hand.

His mind was a mess. Ever since Huo Yuhao had taken leave three days ago, he had felt strangely empty inside.

"He didn't say much... just that he was going to obtain his second soul ring." Wang Dong sighed, his eyes full of concern. "But he's only level twenty. The Far North is a forbidden zone for life..."

Just as everyone was talking among themselves,

a sudden gust of freezing wind swept away the morning mist over Sea God Lake.

The surrounding temperature plummeted by several degrees in an instant, and the dew on the grass froze into ice crystals at a visible rate.

"Hm?" Xuan Lao, who was sitting in the distance gnawing on a chicken leg, suddenly raised his head. A sharp gleam flashed through his cloudy old eyes. "He's here."

Everyone followed Xuan Lao's gaze and saw a white figure slowly approaching from the far end of the training grounds.

He wore a white hooded overcoat none of them had ever seen before. The material looked both thick and soft, while a ring of snowy-white fur around the collar concealed the lower half of his face.

"Yuhao?!" Wang Dong was the first to leap to his feet, crying out in delight.

The boy in white stopped. His long fingers pulled back the hood, revealing a face that looked slightly tired.

It was Huo Yuhao, yet he somehow no longer seemed like the Huo Yuhao from before.

"Sorry, senior brothers and sisters." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. That smile held less youthful immaturity and more of the calm forged amid wind and snow. "I'm back."

"You little brat! I knew you were too tough to die!" Xu Sanshi burst into laughter and rushed over, intending to give Huo Yuhao a bear hug. "Come on, let me see how much weight you put on in the Far North!"

Yet the instant Xu Sanshi drew near Huo Yuhao,

Huo Yuhao did not move. But the invisible aura around him reacted on its own.

Xu Sanshi felt as though he had slammed into an invisible wall of ice, or as though some terrifying colossal beast had glanced at him. That chill from the depths of his soul made him stop in his tracks, and even instinctively made him want to summon the Xuanming Tortoiseshell Shield for protection.

"This..." Xu Sanshi's eyes widened. He took two steps back and stared uncertainly at Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao... what's with that scent on you? Why does it feel... a little like the aura from Monster Hunter?"

Bei Bei also walked over, examining Huo Yuhao from head to toe with a grave expression. "That's dragon might! And not an ordinary dragon's, either. It's the aura of some extremely high-ranking... Elder Dragon."

Bei Bei possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul and was the most sensitive to dragon auras. Right now, Huo Yuhao felt to him like a young dragon wearing human skin.

"Looks like you gained quite a bit over these three days." Xuan Lao slowly approached while chewing on a chicken bone. "Now that you're back, stop hiding it. Show us what exactly you brought back from the Far North."

At Xuan Lao's words, everyone grew excited.

Huo Yuhao's second martial soul! What sort of existence could have brought about such an enormous change in him?

"Yes, Xuan Lao." Huo Yuhao nodded.

He slowly retreated several steps to the center of the training grounds and drew a deep breath.

A clear, soaring dragon roar suddenly exploded beside Sea God Lake! The surrounding air froze in an instant as countless icy-blue motes of light gathered wildly behind Huo Yuhao.

A massive, crystal-clear phantom emerged.

It was a giant dragon formed entirely of ice crystals, its wings stretching like clouds hanging from the heavens! The crown-like horns of ice atop its head radiated a suffocating nobility.

"A dragon?! It's actually a dragon?!" Wang Dong cried out in shock, not even noticing the pebble in his hand fall to the ground. "A dragon-type martial soul with ultimate ice? How... how is that possible?"

"Senior Brother He Caitou, please help me test my move." Huo Yuhao looked toward He Caitou, who had yet to recover from his shock.

"Huh? Oh! All right!" Though He Caitou was simple and honest, he reacted quickly. He immediately activated his soul cannon, unleashing the firepower coverage he was most proficient with from his Resident Evil special training. "Be careful, Yuhao! I'll only use thirty percent of my strength!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three high-explosive soul cannon shells howled through the air, forming a triangular formation that sealed off all of Huo Yuhao's escape routes.

Faced with firepower capable of injuring a Soul Grandmaster, Huo Yuhao neither dodged nor used Mental Detection to search for an opening like he had before. A faint blue gleam flashed in his eyes as he lightly swept his right hand downward.

[First Soul Skill: Ice Wall Formation.]

Crack! Crack! Crack! The ground split apart without warning.

Three incomparably thick ice walls, their surfaces as smooth as mirrors, burst from the earth at astonishing speed!

The positions where the walls appeared were exceptionally tricky, perfectly blocking the shells' paths. Their angles had also been precisely calculated.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The shells struck the ice walls.

They did not explode directly. Instead, the slanted surfaces of the ice walls deflected them! Bursts of flame erupted to either side, while Huo Yuhao, standing behind the walls, did not even have the hem of his clothes disturbed.

"This..." He Caitou froze. "You can defend like that?" Soul masters had always relied on taking attacks head-on when defending. Who used physical angles to make attacks ricochet like this?

"It's not over yet." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and flicked his finger again.

Crack! Several more ice walls rose from the ground.

This time, they were no longer defensive measures. In an instant, they formed a complex ice-crystal labyrinth around He Caitou. He Caitou had just raised his soul cannon to counterattack when he realized that no matter which direction he aimed, his sight was blocked by the ice walls.

"Damn! I've lost my vision!" He Caitou's heart jolted. He instinctively tried to rush out, but the moment he took a step, the frost barrier of Velkhana beneath his feet became slick as glass, sending him sprawling flat on his back.

By the time he scrambled back to his feet in embarrassment,

he found Huo Yuhao standing at the exit of the labyrinth, holding a longsword condensed from ice crystals and smiling at him.

The tip of the blade was only three inches from his throat.

"You let me win, Senior Brother." Huo Yuhao dispersed the ice blade in his hand, and the spectacular maze of ice walls around them dissolved into a sky full of icy powder.

The entire field fell silent.

Everyone looked at Huo Yuhao as if he were a monster. It was not merely that his martial soul had become powerful; his entire way of thinking in battle had changed.

The old Huo Yuhao had been support. He had been the eyes.

The current Huo Yuhao was the one controlling the battlefield.

He used the terrain, used obstacles, used his opponent's blind spots... turning battle into a game he controlled from behind the scenes.

"Amazing..." Bei Bei took a deep breath and began applauding. "Yuhao, what exactly did that internet café owner teach you? This fighting style... it's like a soul beast that knows how to think."

Huo Yuhao smiled and rubbed his nose.

He recalled being toyed with by Barioth in Monster Hunter, then remembered Velkhana's elegant yet lethal attack methods.

"Nothing much." Huo Yuhao looked in the direction of the internet café, his eyes full of gratitude. "I just learned... how to think like a hunter."

"Good!" Xuan Lao tossed aside the bone in his hand, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. "Everyone's here, and our combat strength has improved."

"Looks like we'll be giving those old rivals a huge surprise at this year's tournament."

Xuan Lao swept out an arm, his voice brimming with grandeur. "Set off! Destination—Star Luo City! The All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Duel Tournament!"