Battle Formation Takes Shape, Winter and Autumn's Relationship Eases?

After Zhang Peng's soul fragment retreated, Shrek entered a state of true alert.

Outer courtyard disciples were instructed to reduce nighttime outings, the inner courtyard inspection teams took turns patrolling, and the Soul Tool Department worked through the night to reinforce the sensing towers. Tang Ya and Bei Bei went through records of the abandoned post roads with old files in hand, while He Caitou split Zhang Peng's Blood Baleful records into three copies—one for Huo Yuhao, one for the Sea God Pavilion, and one he kept for himself to study while cursing under his breath.

Huo Yuhao did not remain idle.

He integrated the Blood Baleful records he had just acquired, the evil soul runes, and the bait coordinates outside the city into a new soul power battle formation. Dong'er helped him purify the residual markings on the left, while Qiu'er held down the formation on the right with golden soul power—her hands pressed against the formation's edge as her golden soul power covered the entire foundation like a thin layer of armor, making it unexpectedly stable.

Dong'er looked at the dark red border on the record and spoke flatly. "Are you putting Senior Sister Ma's fire into your battle formation too?"

Huo Yuhao's fingers paused.

"Little Tao's evil fire can be used to deduce the Blood Baleful frequency." He tried to keep his voice steady. "It's a tactical necessity."

Dong'er might get jealous, but she would never hold the team back because of it. She raised her chin, and the look in her eyes was no longer just sourness, but the sharpness forced out by pressure.

She stepped into the heart of the formation.

Wang Qiu'er stepped in as well. "I'm joining too."

They were clearly still competing with each other, yet both knew when they could not back down.

Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes lit up. The four forces formed a complete battle formation diagram for the first time in the center of the formation, and a new ring of markings lit up along its edge: the Half-Breath Prediction Pattern. Huo Yuhao's eyes brightened. If this pattern could be stabilized, he would be able to judge changes in the formation's core half a breath before the enemy's soul power erupted. Half a breath meant little to ordinary soul masters, but for a spiritual-type soul master, it was enough to change the course of a battle.

Dong'er saw it too, and at last a smile appeared on her face. "It worked?"

"The first version worked."

Wang Qiu'er lowered her head to look at the trace left by her golden soul power in the formation, as if examining something whose ownership had just been confirmed. She extended a finger and lightly traced along that mark before looking up.

"I'm in it too."

Dong'er glanced at her. "Of course you are. What, did you think you stepped in here just for decoration?"

Their gazes met, but the old hostility was gone. Looking at them, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that standing side by side in a battle formation like this was more like a bond that could endure than mere "liking" or "jealousy."

The record suddenly trembled. Zhang Peng's Blood Baleful frequency overlapped with the southwestern coordinates outside the city, and a thinner red line emerged.

"He didn't flee. He deliberately left a trail for us to follow," Huo Yuhao said in a low voice.

Wang Qiu'er said decisively, "Then we'll follow it."

Huo Yuhao looked at her. "What if it's a trap?"

Wang Qiu'er tightened her grip on the Golden Dragon Spear, her golden eyes icy. "He was after me in the first place."

Dong'er pushed the record back into his palm. "We'll go together."

The combat test was arranged for the next day. Xuan Lao summoned three Soul Emperor instructors to the training ground and said coldly, "Zhang Peng won't give you time to slowly set up a formation. Today, we're testing only one thing—after being scattered, can you reform your formation?"

The three Soul Emperors immediately moved to surround and kill Huo Yuhao. Spiritual interference severed their shared senses, a powerful attacker shattered the ice from the front, and an agility-type attacker circled behind to seize the record. Huo Yuhao did not retreat. The rubbing in his palm lit up with the Half-Breath Prediction Pattern, and Ultimate Ice spread out in an instant.

"Dong'er, don't turn back on the left flank." Wang Dong'er's light wings beat once, and she forcibly suppressed the instinct to return and assist, cutting toward the opposing control-type Soul Emperor.

"Qiu'er, don't charge head-on." Qiu'er frowned slightly. She hated being told what to do, yet she still slowed by half a beat. That half-beat caused the agility-type Soul Emperor to miss. Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes predicted his landing point, and his spiritual interference shifted the opponent's judgment by only half a breath. Wang Qiu'er's Golden Dragon Spear then swept across, forcing him back thirty feet.

Cries of surprise erupted from the sidelines.

Dong'er's wing blades cut back from midair, connecting perfectly with the gap torn open by Wang Qiu'er's dragon spear. Her wings were blades, the Golden Dragon Spear was a wedge piercing the formation's core, and Huo Yuhao used spiritual sharing to drive both toward the same formation point.

Boom!

The encirclement formation was forcibly torn open, and when the three Soul Emperors withdrew from the battle zone, all contempt had vanished from their faces. "If we were at the same rank, we couldn't win." Yet Huo Yuhao was not pleased— the Half-Breath Prediction Pattern had stabilized to seventy percent, and more importantly, both Dong'er and Qiu'er had managed to suppress their emotions under pressure and truly follow his commands.

Dong'er folded away her light wings and walked up to him. "When you told the left flank not to turn back, you were betting that I would trust you?"

Huo Yuhao looked at her. "I trust you completely."

Dong'er's ears reddened slightly, but she said, "Stop saying things that sound nice."

Qiu'er walked over as well. "You're a very good leader."

Huo Yuhao said encouragingly, "You are too. You fought beautifully."

Something lit up in Qiu'er's eyes. Dong'er saw it clearly, and the sourness that had only just settled in her heart quietly surged again.

Ma Xiaotao sat at the edge of the training ground in her red robes, looking lazy, a teasing smile curling her lips. Watching the three of them, she said meaningfully, "Little Yuhao, the team fought quite well... but your ability to keep everyone happy after the battle still has a long way to go~"