Only Natural

Next, let's talk about why when Huo Yuhao broke through to the Titled Douluo, almost no one was shocked; everyone took it for granted.

First of all, the Titled Douluo is the first real insurmountable barrier on the path of Soul Master's cultivation.

Since the birth of Soul Master, countless geniuses have wasted their lives at this threshold, ultimately dying with regret.

Those who can take this step are all renowned powerhouses on the continent, capable of founding their own sects and being revered by thousands.

Logically speaking, watching someone rise from an unknown youth to the position of Titled Douluo, witnessing him climb out of the dust and stand at the top of the continent, should be a thrilling and exhilarating experience.

But when it came to Huo Yuhao, the moment he broke through the Level 90 bottleneck and his Soul Ring lit up in a scattered pattern, everyone was very calm. They didn't feel excited at all, let alone feel any surprise or excitement.

This calm is just too eerie.

Huo Yuhao went from being a destitute orphan bullied in the Star Dou Forest to a freshman at the Shrek Academy, and then to a member of the Sea God Pavilion and the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, stumbling and falling all the way.

Normally, witnessing a young man grow into a top powerhouse on the continent should move one to some extent, but when he actually reached the level of Titled Douluo, his heart was not stirred at all.

Compared to Huo Yuhao, I was reminded of another person, Tang San.

While both Tang San broke through to the Titled Douluo, their situations were completely different.

The scene when Tang San broke through Level 90: At that time, he was being chased to the brink of despair by the Spirit Hall, and the people around him left him one by one.

Xiao Wu sacrificed herself to save him, transforming into Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring on his body.

Later, the two forest kings, the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python, were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect him, transferring all their cultivation to him.

He walked that path on the edge of a knife.

The boy who came from Holy Soul Village was born with Twin Martial Souls and should have been a chosen one of heaven, but he just happened to run into the Martial Spirit Hall, which was at the height of its power.

His father lived in hiding, and his mother died early. He carried a deep-seated hatred from childhood, and was constantly hunted down, surrounded, and suppressed. He almost died at the hands of the Spirit Hall several times.

Each of his breakthroughs was not achieved through peaceful meditation and cultivation, but rather by being forced to the brink of life and death.

Breakthroughs were made while being hunted, breakthroughs were made while being surrounded, breakthroughs were made after losing loved ones; every Soul Ring, every skill, was stained with blood and bore wounds.

So when Tang San's ninth Soul Ring lit up, and that crimson light symbolizing 100,000 years shot into the sky, all the pent-up frustration, forbearance, pain, and resentment that had been building up all along erupted in that instant.

That wasn't just a simple level up; it was someone who had been relentlessly crushed by fate for over a decade, finally managing to push aside all the mountains weighing on him with sheer willpower.

That exhilarating feeling of overcoming hardship and reaping the rewards, that awe-inspiring sense of survival after facing certain death, is etched into one's very being.

You watch him climb out of the mud, watch him lose everything and then fight his way back, watch him covered in wounds but never bowing his head. When he finally stands at the top, it's hard not to be moved.

Not only his breakthrough itself, but even his Soul Skill carried heavy memories.

Blue Silver Grass's first Soul Skill, Entanglement, and second Soul Skill, Parasite, along with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer of the Clear Sky Hammer, are the mementos left to him by his father and his trump cards that have enabled him to turn defeat into victory time and time again.

There are also various Soul Skill such as the Blue Silver Prison, Blue Silver Overlord Spear, Divine Slaughter's Domain, and Clear Sky Hammer... too many to count.

Behind every skill lies a real, hard-fought battle, an experience earned at the risk of one's life.

You don't need to deliberately remember; just watch him fight his way through, and it will naturally be etched in your mind.

But Huo Yuhao is different.

Having watched it all this way, I can count the number of Soul Skill I can clearly remember on my fingers.

Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing have been his signature techniques from the very beginning.

Soul Shock is an essential first move in every battle.

Add an Ice Blast, and the rest... I don't really remember.

His fighting style is too predictable.

Almost every fight follows the same pattern: first, use Mental Shock to control the field, then use Spiritual Sharing to open up vision for teammates, then Snow Empress comes out to unleash an ice-type ultimate move, Ice Empress adds damage, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stacks buffs, and finally use Soul Tool to finish it off.

The whole process was quite exciting, with each Soul Spirit's skill more dazzling than the last, and each Soul Tool more powerful than the last. But as you watched, you couldn't help but wonder.

What about Huo Yuhao himself?

How much of the battle did his own Soul Skill and abilities contribute?

His Soul Spirit provides the damage output, his Soul Tool handles his offense and defense, and even his cultivation is aided by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, which helps him manage his Soul Power and plan his path.

He's more like a commander, arranging his various cheat codes to fight, rather than a Soul Master who personally goes into battle and fights bloodily.

Why do these two people, both having broken through to the Titled Douluo, give off such different vibes?

Ultimately, it all boils down to two words: suffering.

Tang San's Titled Douluo was earned through hard work and struggle. He was forced to the edge of a cliff with no way out but to take the plunge, either to be shattered to pieces or to be reborn from the ashes.

There weren't many opportunities that fell from the sky on his path to success.

He was born with Twin Martial Souls, but the Tang Sect Secret Arts, such as the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eyes, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, were learned through his arduous training day and night since childhood.

He personally hunted for each of Blue Silver Grass's Soul Ring, often risking his life to obtain them.

The power of the Clear Sky Hammer was forged by his own hammer blows, honed through countless battles.

It's true that he has cheat codes, but those cheat codes are just tools. What truly sustains him all the way is his own will and his unwillingness to admit defeat.

The Spirit Hall killed his mother, forced Xiao Wu to her death, destroyed his sect, and pushed him to the brink of despair, but he never bowed his head and fought his way out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Therefore, you would find it remarkable that he broke through to the Titled Douluo.

He has suffered so much hardship and torment; he deserves this position. He should have been standing at this level long ago.

That breakthrough was a compensation for all his suffering and a reward for all his perseverance, naturally making people's blood boil.

However, Huo Yuhao's Titled Douluo seems more like something that was "accumulated" or "piled up".

Undeniably, his start was disastrous.

His birth mother died early, and he was bullied in the Duke's Mansion. At a young age, he left home alone to try his luck in the Star Dou Forest. He was a truly destitute orphan.

But from the moment he met the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, his path suddenly became smooth.

Million-Year Soul Beast took the initiative to come to him, wanting to become his Wisdom Soul Ring. It inexplicably gave him a Spirit Power boost and even helped him plan his future cultivation path.