Golden Road vs. Netherworld White Tiger

Meanwhile, the finals of the Shrek Freshman Assessment Tournament were about to begin.

Huo Yuhao's team, the favored children of fate, had fought their way through every challenge to reach the grand finals. Their opponents were none other than Dai Huabin's team.

Compared to the original story, Huo Yuhao had not changed much, except that his soul power had reached rank twenty several months early. He was still filled with hatred toward Dai Huabin, the enemy responsible for his mother's suffering, and glared viciously at the other side.

On the raised platform.

"Sister-in-law, who do you think will win this freshman tournament? How about we make a bet?" Yan Shaozhe asked Xian Lin'er with a cheerful grin.

Xian Lin'er paid no attention to Yan Shaozhe's proposed wager. She smiled and shook her head. "No bet. Shao Zhe, you're trying to scam money and resources out of me now? Just wait until I tell your brother that you're bullying his wife."

The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face froze for a moment before he put on an expression of deep indignation. "Don't you feel guilty saying that? Back when we were young, during the Soul Dueling Tournament bets, when did you ever not welsh on a debt? Do you have any idea how many good things I lost because of you? Compared to you, my character practically shines! Besides, when have you ever not used my brother to pressure me? I can't even be bothered to complain about you."

Feng Ling sat beside them, listening to the two bicker back and forth, and really wanted to cover her face. Xian Lin'er was the vice dean of the Soul Guidance Department, a rank ninety-five Titled Douluo. Yan Shaozhe was the dean of the Martial Soul Department, also a rank ninety-five Titled Douluo. Either of them could shake the whole Douluo Continent with a stomp, yet here they were squabbling. She lowered her voice to remind them, "Sister Lin'er, Shao Zhe, the students are all below. Watch yourselves."

Xian Lin'er and Yan Shaozhe fell silent at the same time, glared at each other, then turned their heads away.

Less than three seconds later, Yan Shaozhe turned back. His tone was more serious this time, though his eyes still held a smile. "Then how about this? Who are you betting on? I'm just asking casually. It doesn't count as a bet."

Only then did Xian Lin'er glance at him. "I'm betting on Yuhao."

"Why?"

"Old Yan from my family took him as a disciple. Who else would I bet on?" Xian Lin'er said as if it were only natural.

Yan Shaozhe clicked his tongue and leaned back. "Sister-in-law, your favoritism has gone through the roof."

"I learned favoritism from your brother," Xian Lin'er replied without turning around, her gaze already fixed on the arena. "Besides, are you really so sure Dai Huabin will win?"

Following her gaze, Yan Shaozhe saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong step onto the arena side by side, facing Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu from afar. He fell silent for two seconds before saying, "They have a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. I don't know how they could lose."

The atmosphere on the arena had already begun to heat up.

A phantom layer of white fur and black stripes enveloped Dai Huabin's body. His tiger eyes were wide, and when his gaze swept over them, it carried an undisguised sense of oppression. He said nothing, but the hostility was written clearly across his face.

Huo Yuhao stood opposite him. He was an entire size smaller than Dai Huabin, yet he stood firm. His hands were clenched at his sides, his knuckles white. The fire in his chest burned hotter and hotter as scenes buried deep in his memories surfaced one after another—the gaunt face of his mother on her sickbed, the servants' cold mockery outside the window, the nights when he curled up alone beneath the blankets and bit his lip to keep from crying.

The person before him was the White Tiger Duke's son.

He was one of the people Huo Yuhao hated most in the family that had condemned his mother to a lifetime of misery.

The referee stood in the middle of the arena, glanced to either side, confirmed that both teams were ready, and abruptly slashed a hand downward.

"Begin!"

Before the word had even faded, Dai Huabin moved.

A tiger's roar nearly burst everyone's eardrums. Two cracks split the tiles beneath his feet as he shot toward Huo Yuhao like a boulder hurled from a catapult. His White Tiger Martial Soul erupted in full force, white fur and black tiger stripes surging wildly from beneath his skin. His tiger claws tore through the air with a shriek as they lunged straight for Huo Yuhao's face.

Wang Dong stepped sideways and blocked Huo Yuhao. The blue-gold wings of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly snapped open behind him, and shimmering scales condensed in the air into a translucent shield of light. He crossed his arms and raised them. With a muffled bang, both of them staggered back three or four steps, shattering a patch of arena tiles beneath their feet.

Zhu Lu darted out from the flank without a sound. The ghostly speed of the Netherworld Spirit Cat was pushed to its limit. Her body flickered so quickly that she was nearly impossible to see, while her gleaming cat claws slashed straight for the back of Huo Yuhao's neck.

Huo Yuhao did not turn around.

But his Spirit Eyes had already "seen" through the entire arena. Spiritual Detection spread like an invisible spiderweb, and everything within thirty meters appeared clearly in his mind—Dai Huabin's direction of force, Zhu Lu's path of movement, the rhythm of the two opponents' soul power fluctuations, even a rough prediction of the angles from which they might attack next.

Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao had clashed with Cui Yajie.

The two sides exchanged blows on the arena for nearly a quarter of an hour, and both had expended a great deal. Dai Huabin's soul power was robust, but even he could not sustain such frequent bursts. Zhu Lu's repeated flanking ambushes had all been intercepted by Huo Yuhao in advance, and Dai Huabin's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

Then he made up his mind.

Dai Huabin suddenly retreated three steps and threw back his head with a long, heavy tiger's roar. Hearing it, Zhu Lu did not hesitate. Her entire body turned into a black phantom as she rushed toward him. The moment their bodies met in midair, black and white light erupted at once, forcing many spectators below to squint.

When the light faded, an enormous white tiger stood in the center of the arena.

The Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Netherworld White Tiger.

The tiger's body was translucent white, its stripes black as ink. Its purple pupils looked down upon its opponents from above.

Huo Yuhao looked up at the enormous white tiger, and his pupils contracted slightly.

He had seen this thing once before, from afar during the elimination rounds. But back then, he had only sensed it from across half the arena. It was nowhere near as immediate as standing face-to-face with it now. That pressure bore down on his chest, as if a real ferocious beast had fixed its gaze on the back of his neck.

But he was not afraid.

He looked at Wang Dong without speaking. Wang Dong extended a hand, and Huo Yuhao did the same. Their hands clasped together. Blue-gold light poured from Wang Dong's Radiant Goddess Butterfly, while pale golden light poured from Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes. The two streams converged between their clasped palms and soared upward.

The Radiant Goddess Butterfly's silhouette vanished, as did the phantom of the Spirit Eyes. In their place rose a magnificent blue-gold blaze. The light enveloped Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, then suddenly compressed and condensed into a golden beam that shot straight ahead.

Brilliance Amidst Decay—Golden Road.

Wherever the golden light passed, it left a charred trail across the arena tiles. The air warped from the scorching heat, and the temperature rose several degrees in an instant.

The Netherworld White Tiger unleashed an earthshaking roar, kicked off with all four limbs, and charged directly into the golden beam.

When the two beams of light collided, everyone's vision was swallowed by blinding white.

On the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er stood up at the same time.

Feng Ling rose as well, narrowing her eyes slightly.

On the arena, the enormous Netherworld White Tiger was shattering piece by piece. Black and white light peeled away from its body like ashes scattered by the wind before fading away. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu fell from midair, crashing heavily onto the broken tiles. Their faces were pale as paper, their lips blue, and they lay motionless on the ground, with only their chests faintly rising and falling.

On the other side of the arena, the three-colored radiance gradually faded as well. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong reappeared, still embracing each other. Huo Yuhao raised his head, and the two looked into each other's eyes. They knew it.

They had won.

The audience below was deathly silent at first. Then someone shouted, and the voices across the entire plaza surged forth like floodwaters after a dam burst.

"They won! Huo Yuhao won!"

"A Martial Soul Fusion Technique against a Martial Soul Fusion Technique!"

"This year's freshmen are way too fierce—"

Cheers, whistles, and applause mixed together. Some people jumped up and waved their school uniform jackets, while others shouted names at the top of their lungs.

On the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe looked down at the two boys on the arena, swaying on their feet yet desperately refusing to fall. He was silent for several seconds. Then he turned to Xian Lin'er and found that she was looking at him too, her amber eyes filled with unmistakable pride.

"Shao Zhe," Xian Lin'er said slowly as she sat back down, brushing nonexistent dust from her robes, "what was it you said you wanted to bet?"

Yan Shaozhe's mouth twitched. He gave a dry laugh. "Sister-in-law, can we just let this go?"

Xian Lin'er snorted, lifted her teacup for a sip, and ignored him.

Watching the two of them, Feng Ling finally could not hold it in any longer. She lowered her head and secretly smiled.

However, at that moment, a terrifying aura far beyond that of an ordinary Titled Douluo suddenly erupted from the distant Sea God Pavilion.

The expressions of all three changed at once. They exchanged glances, and Feng Ling asked, "This is?"

"Brother Jing Zhe. He's come out of seclusion."