Thousand-Handed Asura

On the official road leading to Heaven Dou City, the carriage rumbled onward.

Inside the carriage, Qian Ren Duo was animatedly recounting things he had seen in Heaven Dou City as a child, while Qian Ren Jun occasionally cut in to expose his exaggerations. The brothers bickered merrily. Wang Qiu'er leaned against the window, staring silently at the fields flashing past outside.

Huo Yuhao sat opposite her, silent for a long time.

"I have something to tell you."

Qian Ren Duo stopped talking and looked at him.

Qian Ren Jun also fell quiet and leaned closer curiously.

Wang Qiu'er withdrew her gaze from the window and fixed it on his face.

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath.

"I have Twin Martial Souls."

The carriage fell silent for a moment.

Qian Ren Duo blinked. "That's it?"

Huo Yuhao froze.

"What do you mean, 'that's it'?"

"We guessed a long time ago." Qian Ren Duo spread his hands. "Your first Soul Ring was ten years, then your second suddenly became a thousand years, and your third and fourth became ten thousand years—any idiot would know something had to be up with you. And that Martial Soul Fusion Skill you used with Qiu'er last time—the scorpion pattern that appeared on her back was exactly the same as the tattoo on yours. Twin Martial Souls, obviously. One eye, one scorpion."

Qian Ren Jun nodded beside him. "Right. We're not idiots."

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

The secret he had guarded for seven years had already been seen through?

"But you really kept it under wraps." Qian Ren Duo leaned closer and lowered his voice. "What Soul Rings does your other Martial Soul have? Let's hear it."

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment.

"Ice Jade Scorpion." A smile curled across his lips. "As for the Soul Rings, see for yourself. Just don't die of fright later."

"Tch. If you can scare me, I'll call you—"

As he spoke, an aura of extreme cold spread through the carriage, accompanied by the pressure of an ancient vicious beast as the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion tattoo on Huo Yuhao's back activated.

Red, orange-gold, orange-gold, orange-gold.

The carriage fell silent again.

This time, the silence lasted rather long.

Qian Ren Duo's mouth formed an O.

Qian Ren Jun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What were you going to call me?"

Only Wang Qiu'er remained calm. Yet a faint, nearly imperceptible glimmer flashed through her red eyes.

"A genius," Qian Ren Jun said, swallowing hard.

"Hundred-thousand-year..." Qian Ren Duo muttered, repeating the words. "And what are orange-gold ones...? I've lived nineteen years, and this is the first time I've heard of orange-gold Soul Rings..."

"This is my first time hearing of them too," Qian Ren Jun echoed. "I thought Soul Rings only came in white, yellow, purple, black, and red..."

"Those are Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings?!" Looking again, Qian Ren Duo finally reacted. He pounced on Huo Yuhao and shook him fiercely. "Even my grandfather doesn't have those..."

Huo Yuhao said nothing.

He merely looked at Wang Qiu'er instinctively.

She was looking at him too. In those red eyes, there was no shock, no curiosity, only a strange calmness. As if she were saying: I already knew.

Huo Yuhao suddenly remembered the golden thread connecting them.

Perhaps she really did know.

Heaven Dou City was even livelier than Huo Yuhao had imagined.

The carriage passed through the towering city gates and entered broad streets. Shops lined both sides of the road, and cries of vendors rose and fell without end. Soul Masters in all manner of clothing could be seen everywhere. Some carried weapons on their backs, while others led soul beasts as they passed in groups of two or three.

"They're all here for the tournament." Qian Ren Duo lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. "The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is held once every five years. Heaven Dou City is one of the preliminary regions, so academies from nearby will all come to compete. Some of these people are contestants, while others are here to watch the excitement."

The carriage continued onward before finally stopping in front of an enormous building.

The Great Soul Arena.

It was one of Heaven Dou City's most famous landmarks, built entirely from massive blue-gray stones. It stood dozens of meters tall and covered nearly half a block. At this moment, crowds packed the area outside the Great Soul Arena. The registration line stretched from the entrance all the way to the street corner, twisting and winding out of sight.

"So many people..." Qian Ren Jun clicked his tongue.

"They're all here to register." Qian Ren Duo jumped down from the carriage and stretched lazily. "During the tournament, the Great Soul Arena holds all kinds of matches. There are official team battles, but also individual and two-person matches. Plenty of Soul Masters who didn't make the preliminaries come to join in, earn some prize money, and show their faces."

He turned to look at Huo Yuhao and Wang Qiu'er.

"Want to give it a try?"

Huo Yuhao paused.

"Give it a try?"

"Have a match." Qian Ren Duo grinned. "Since we're already here, it'd be a shame not to stretch our legs. Besides—"

He lowered his voice, a sly smile appearing on his face.

"When your Martial Soul Fusion Skill appears in the tournament, it'll make everyone's jaws drop. This is the perfect time to practice and get familiar with it."

Huo Yuhao considered it, then nodded.

Wang Qiu'er nodded as well.

The four of them headed toward registration.

When registering, Qian Ren Duo gave himself the name "Holy Light Angel." Qian Ren Jun chuckled and followed suit with "Divine Light Angel," only to get kicked by his brother after writing it down.

When it was Huo Yuhao's turn, he thought for a moment before writing four words on the registration form:

Angel Believer.

Qian Ren Duo leaned over for a look and laughed. "Not bad. You really know how to flatter people."

Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes at him.

Wang Qiu'er picked up the pen and wrote four words:

Fate Emperor.

Qian Ren Duo paused and looked at her. Her red eyes were calm as still water, betraying no emotion. He did not dare ask further and merely withdrew his gaze in silence.

The four of them registered separately, collected their number tags, and entered the Great Soul Arena.

The interior was even more magnificent than the outside. The enormous circular arena stood dozens of meters high, with tier upon tier of spectator stands surrounding it, all filled with viewers. In the central fighting ring, two Soul Masters were locked in fierce battle. Soul Rings flashed, and the audience's cheers were deafening.

"Fight your own matches," Qian Ren Duo said. "We'll meet at the entrance when we're done."

The four split up and headed toward different competition areas.

Holding his number tag, Huo Yuhao found his assigned arena. It was a smaller side hall, with only a few dozen spectators scattered across the stands, far quieter than the central arena.

"Number forty-three, Angel Believer!" a staff member called.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward.

A youth stepped onto the stage opposite him.

The youth was about the same age as Huo Yuhao. He wore plain blue combat clothes, and his long black hair was casually tied behind his head. His features were refined, with a steadiness between his brows. His steps were firm as he walked onto the stage, and his gaze was calm.

Huo Yuhao saw the name displayed beside him on the light screen—

Thousand-Handed Asura.

A very ordinary name.

He did not know why he looked at him twice. Perhaps there was some indescribable aura about this person, or perhaps the Destiny Line trembled ever so slightly. He did not know.

He only looked at the youth, a strange feeling rising within him.

They did not know each other.

Yet it somehow felt as though they did.

Even the Eye of Eternity in his Sea of Spirit trembled faintly, as though sensing something.

"The match begins!" the referee announced.

Huo Yuhao steadied himself and activated his Martial Soul.

His Spirit Eyes possessed him, and his gaze became as deep as an abyss. Four Soul Rings rose beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple. He used his simulation soul skill to alter their colors, concealing his true Soul Ring configuration.

Thousand-Handed Asura activated his Martial Soul as well.

A faint red glow appeared over his hands as dark-red vines spread from beneath his feet and burrowed out of the ground. Four Soul Rings rose beneath him—two yellow, one purple, one black.

"Mutated Blue Silver Grass? Interesting."

Huo Yuhao's gaze fell on that black Soul Ring.

Fourth Soul Ring: a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Beyond the optimal ratio.

Without question, this Thousand-Handed Asura was an absolute genius.

Thousand-Handed Asura was observing him as well. When he saw the two-yellow, two-purple Soul Ring configuration and sensed the fluctuations of forty-second-rank soul power, the corners of his lips lifted into an almost imperceptible smile.

Forty-second rank. Soul Rings: two yellow, two purple.

Far inferior to his own.

"Begin!" the referee called again.

Thousand-Handed Asura moved.

Blue Silver Grass surged toward Huo Yuhao like a tide. The blades were tough and nimble, weaving through the air into a massive net that closed in from every direction. His soul skills were used with great mastery; he had clearly fought countless battles.

Yet the Blue Silver Grass that should have lashed at or entangled Huo Yuhao always narrowly brushed past his body and landed behind him.

Thousand-Handed Asura frowned.

Spiritual interference. Spiritual confusion.

He had never encountered such an opponent, but he knew that Soul Masters with spiritual-type Martial Souls could disrupt an opponent's senses and make their soul skills lose accuracy. Ordinary interference could at most make Blue Silver Grass veer off course. It should not have been like this—completely unable to approach.

He gritted his teeth and increased his soul power output.

The Blue Silver Grass became thicker and tougher as it surged at Huo Yuhao again from every direction.

It still could not get close.

Huo Yuhao stood where he was, utterly motionless.

His Spiritual Detection spread out and enveloped the entire arena. Every movement Thousand-Handed Asura made, every flow of soul power, every attack from the Blue Silver Grass appeared clearly in his mind. He could even predict what his opponent would do the next second.

This was the Spirit Eyes.

This was his Martial Soul.

Thousand-Handed Asura's expression changed.

Even across four lifetimes, he had never faced an opponent like this—someone who could stand there doing nothing and render all his attacks useless. He tried changing tactics and had the Blue Silver Grass burst from underground, but the instant the blades emerged, an invisible force scattered them into chaos.

He tried using his fourth soul skill, Blue Silver Prison, but every prison was always just slightly off target.

Irritated and unsettled.

He had not felt this way in a very long time.

Ever since returning to this world, everything had gone smoothly for him. He had awakened Twin Martial Souls again, possessed innate full soul power, become a disciple of the master, entered Shrek Academy, and met Xiao Wu and his companions. His cultivation speed was even faster than in his previous lives, and his strength far surpassed that of his peers.

He was used to winning, used to being admired.

But now, he could not even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes.

In the instant his attention wandered, Huo Yuhao moved.

His right hand rose, covered in a layer of crystalline diamond ice. The icy blue shimmered with a cold, ghostly light beneath the lamps, radiating bone-piercing chill.

Ice Empress's Pincer.

Huo Yuhao grabbed the still-writhing Blue Silver Grass and pulled hard.

Crack.

Those incomparably tough strands of Blue Silver Grass, the same Blue Silver Grass that had given countless opponents headaches, snapped like dead weeds in his hand. Fragments scattered through the air and fell across the ground.

Thousand-Handed Asura froze.

His Blue Silver Grass had been torn apart barehanded?

Huo Yuhao gave him no time to react.

He walked forward. Step by step, neither fast nor slow, each step seeming to land directly on Thousand-Handed Asura's chest. Those dark eyes stared at him without the slightest expression, yet sent a chill down his back.

"You—"

A fierce glint flashed through Thousand-Handed Asura's eyes.

Eight spider legs suddenly sprang from his back.

They were an External Spirit Bone, the Eight Spider Lances. One of his greatest trump cards. Every spider lance was incomparably sharp and carried deadly poison, capable of piercing steel. He had defeated countless powerful enemies with this move and had never failed.

All eight spider lances stabbed toward Huo Yuhao at once.

Swift as lightning, vicious as venomous snakes.

Then they stopped.

Several sharp "blades" covered in dark-golden light blocked them.

Darkgolden Terrorclaw.

Dark-golden light flowed over Huo Yuhao's right hand, solid as metal and sharp as blades. The eight spider lances were held fast by him, unable to advance even half an inch further.

Thousand-Handed Asura's eyes widened.

That was his greatest trump card.

And it had been blocked just like that?

Huo Yuhao looked at him.

At the expression on that face changing from disbelief to fear.

Then he raised his foot and kicked Thousand-Handed Asura in the chest.

The force was not heavy, not enough to injure him, but enough to send him flying.

Thousand-Handed Asura's body traced an arc through the air, cleared the railing, and crashed heavily onto the ground below the stage. He struggled to rise, only to find a sharp pain in his chest that left him unable to move for the moment.

Scattered applause rose from the stands.

Huo Yuhao stood on the stage, looking down at him from above.

There was no expression in those dark eyes.

"Thank you for letting me win," he said.

Then he turned and walked off the stage.

The staff member's announcement of the match result came from behind him, but he did not listen. He simply stepped down, passed through the corridor, and headed for the entrance.

He did not know who he had just defeated.

He did not care.

He only knew that person was far too weak.

So weak that he had no desire to use his true strength at all.

Thousand-Handed Asura lay on the ground, watching that receding figure.

He did not know why he had lost.

He had clearly been of a higher level, with better Soul Rings, and even a trump card like the Eight Spider Lances. Yet from beginning to end, he had not touched his opponent even once before being kicked off the stage.

Who was that person?

Angel Believer.

A name he had never heard before.

Yet that blurry face, those dark eyes, that gaze that made his heart pound—he seemed to have seen them somewhere before.

Where?

He could not remember.

A sharp pain shot through his chest, leaving him unable to think any further. Gritting his teeth, he climbed to his feet and limped away from the arena.

The spectators dispersed, and the side hall returned to silence.

No one knew what that match had meant.

Nor did anyone know that the gears of fate had begun to turn at that very moment.

"Huo Yuhao..."

"Be careful... Tang San."

"Who is Tang San?"

The Eye of Eternity did not answer and dimmed once more.