After Zhang Peng's soul fragment retreated, Shrek entered a state of genuine alert.
Outer courtyard disciples were instructed to reduce their nighttime outings. The inner courtyard's Inspection Team took turns patrolling, while the Soul Tool Department worked through the night to reinforce the sensing towers. Tang Ya pored over materials on abandoned post roads with Bei Bei, clutching old files. He Caitou split Zhang Peng's Blood Baleful Intent record shard into three copies—one for Huo Yuhao, one for the Sea God Pavilion, and one he kept for himself, grumbling as he studied it.
Huo Yuhao had not been idle.
He integrated the Blood Baleful Intent record shard he had just obtained, the evil soul talisman patterns, and the bait coordinates outside the city into a new Soul Power battle formation. Dong'er helped purify the residual patterns on his left, while Qiu'er stabilized the formation on his right with golden Soul Power—both hands pressed against the edges of the formation markings, her golden Soul Power spread over the entire foundation like a thin suit of armor, making it unexpectedly steady.
Dong'er looked at the dark-red border on the record shard, her tone flat. "Are you putting Senior Sister Ma's fire into your battle formation too?"
Huo Yuhao's fingers paused.
"Xiaotao's Evil Fire can be used to reverse-engineer the Blood Baleful Intent frequency." He tried to keep his voice steady. "It's a tactical necessity."
Dong'er might be jealous, but she would never let jealousy hold the team back. She lifted her chin, and the only thing left in her eyes was no longer bitterness, but the sharpness forced out by pressure.
She stepped into the formation's core.
Wang Qiu'er stepped in as well. "Me too."
They were clearly still competing with each other, yet they both knew when they could not back down.
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes lit up. The four powers formed a complete battle formation diagram at the center for the first time, and a new ring of patterns illuminated at its edge: the Half-Breath Prediction Pattern. Huo Yuhao's eyes brightened. If this pattern could stabilize, he would be able to judge changes in the formation core half a breath before the enemy's Soul Power erupted. Half a breath meant little to ordinary soul masters, but to a spiritual-type soul master, it was enough to change an entire 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 study the trace left by her golden Soul Power in the formation, as though she were looking at something whose ownership had just been confirmed. She extended a finger and lightly traced along the mark before looking up.
"I'm in it too."
Dong'er shot her a glance. "Of course you are. Did you think you stepped in here just to be decoration?"
Their gazes met, but there was less hostility than before. Looking at them, Huo Yuhao suddenly felt that standing side by side in the battle formation was more like a bond that could endure than simple "liking" or "jealousy."
The record shard suddenly trembled. Zhang Peng's Blood Baleful Intent frequency overlapped with the southwestern coordinates outside the city, and a finer red line emerged.
"He didn't flee. He deliberately left a trail for us to follow," Huo Yuhao said grimly.
Wang Qiu'er answered 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 coming for me in the first place."
Dong'er pushed the record shard back into his palm. "We'll go together."
The practical test was scheduled for the next day. Xuan Zi summoned three Soul Emperor instructors to the training ground and said coldly, "Zhang Peng will not give you time to slowly set up a formation. Today, we will test only one thing—after being scattered, can you reform your formation?"
The three Soul Emperor instructors immediately moved to surround and kill Huo Yuhao. Spiritual interference severed the sharing, a frontal assault shattered the ice, and an agility-type attacker circled behind to seize the record shard. 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 from the left flank." Wang Dong'er's light wings flared, and she forcibly suppressed her instinct to return and support the others, 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 the enemy's landing point, his spiritual interference shifted the enemy's judgment by only half a breath, and Wang Qiu'er's Golden Dragon Spear swept out afterward, forcing the opponent back three zhang.
Cries of surprise erupted from the sidelines.
Dong'er's Wing Guillotine sliced back down from the air, perfectly connecting with the gap torn open by Wang Qiu'er's dragon spear. Her wings were blades, the Golden Dragon Spear a chisel piercing the formation core, while Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Sharing to drive both attacks toward the same formation point.
Boom!
The encirclement formation was forcibly torn open. When the three Soul Emperor instructors withdrew from the battle zone, all contempt had vanished from their faces. "If we were at the same level, we couldn't win." Yet Huo Yuhao was not pleased—his Half-Breath Prediction Pattern had stabilized to seventy percent. More importantly, under intense pressure, both Dong'er and Qiu'er had managed to suppress their emotions and truly follow his commands.
Dong'er folded away her light wings and walked up to him. "When you told me not to turn back from the left flank, you bet that I would trust you?"
Huo Yuhao looked at her. "I trust you completely."
The tips of Dong'er's ears warmed, but she said, "Stop saying things that sound nice."
Qiu'er came over as well. "You're a very good leader."
Huo Yuhao reassured her, "You are too. You fought beautifully."
Qiu'er's eyes brightened. Dong'er saw it clearly, and the jealousy that had just settled in her heart quietly stirred again.
Ma Xiaotao sat at the edge of the training ground, lounging in red robes with an amused smile curling her lips. Looking at the three of them, she said meaningfully, "Little Yuhao, the team fought well... but your ability to keep everyone happy after the battle still has a long way to go~"
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