"Opponent successfully defeated. Advanced Assessment complete. Entering the Ultimate Assessment."
As the words fell, the Huo Yuhao from the Advanced Assessment vanished, and another new version of him appeared before Bai Chen.
"Ultimate Assessment, first stage: endure for thirty seconds. Begin."
So this is finally the last enemy...
Bai Chen took a deep breath. Rather than rushing forward, he assumed a defensive stance.
He was worried that the Huo Yuhao in this Ultimate Assessment possessed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw. If he charged in foolishly, he might be instantly killed.
It was precisely because Bai Chen from the Douluo II Era also possessed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone that he understood just how terrifying this soul skill was.
If it were his Douluo II Era self, he could withstand it with his monster-level physical strength. But his current self could not; his body was far inferior to that of his Douluo II Era self.
The Huo Yuhao of the Ultimate Assessment had no idea what Bai Chen was thinking. A layer of diamond ice crystals rose over his body, protecting his body and hands, before he charged straight at Bai Chen.
"So you still aren't using Soul Shock..."
Bai Chen smiled.
During the Advanced Assessment just now, Huo Yuhao had not used Soul Shock at all. Bai Chen had guessed that the opponent's artificial intelligence would summarize previous combat experience and fight accordingly.
That guess had now been half-confirmed.
If that was truly the case, then Bai Chen's caution had been correct.
During the Advanced Assessment, Bai Chen had actually possessed a means of instantly defeating his opponent, but he had not used it.
He had feared that the opponent would record it, develop a countermeasure, and make the later assessments more difficult.
Now that he had reached the final stage, he could finally unleash those methods.
At the same time, he relaxed slightly.
The Huo Yuhao simulated by the Ultimate Assessment was already at the Late Second Ring stage. At this point, his spiritual power was more than ten times that of an ordinary Soul Elder, and he could even kill a Millennium Soul Beast in one hit with Soul Shock.
Bai Chen did not know how strong his Evil Attribute's protection of the Spiritual Sea was. It was better not to test it if he could avoid it.
While he was thinking, Huo Yuhao had already charged toward him using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
Facing the aggressively advancing Huo Yuhao, Bai Chen did not choose to stand his ground as he had last time. Instead, he retreated.
At the same time, the Evil God Hook behind him began to sway restlessly.
As the saying went, an inch longer meant an inch stronger. Since Bai Chen's Evil God Hook had an advantage in attack range, he naturally had to make the most of it.
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, and then his entire figure gradually faded away.
"—"
Bai Chen's eyelids twitched.
Simulation. Huo Yuhao had ultimately used this soul skill.
Although this soul skill was only a thousand years old, in terms of usefulness, it was undoubtedly among the very best of all Huo Yuhao's soul skills.
The principles behind Simulation and Spiritual Disturbance were fundamentally different. Spiritual Disturbance was closer to creating an illusion, influencing another person's mind to create a false image within it.
Simulation, meanwhile, used spiritual power to affect the light in reality, thereby creating false images.
Bai Chen VS Huo Yuhao (Part Two)
Simply put, Spiritual Disturbance affected the enemy, while Simulation affected the environment.
That was also why Simulation was so difficult to see through. Spiritual Disturbance could not affect opponents with too great a gap in strength, but Simulation affected the environment around Huo Yuhao, so it could work at any time.
Although Huo Yuhao's Simulation at this stage could not yet completely conceal his aura, merely hiding his figure was already troublesome enough for Bai Chen.
Because that meant he would be unable to see his opponent's exact movements.
If Huo Yuhao successfully used this soul skill, the rhythm of the battle from then on would completely fall into his hands.
I can't hold back anymore!
Bai Chen made his decision in an instant. His first Soul Ring, which had done nothing since the battle began, finally lit up, and Huo Yuhao's body was immediately frozen in place.
Time Freeze. The instant this soul skill activated, it rewrote the entire battle situation.
Bai Chen did not dare waste any time. He rushed forward, striking with the Evil God Hook and the two forging hammers in his hands at once.
Boom! Boom!
Two intense impacts rang out in succession. The sheer force of the attacks could be heard from the sounds alone.
At the same moment the hammer strikes landed, a jet-black streak of light flashed past.
The Evil God Hook tore through the air and stabbed straight toward Huo Yuhao's throat.
Squelch!
A piercing sound rang out. Huo Yuhao, frozen in time, could not dodge and was struck directly in a vital spot by the lethal attack.
"..."
Even in such a state, he did not die immediately. Instead, he raised a hand, seemingly intending to do something.
"Damn!"
Did he simulate Life Gold's regenerative power too?!
Bai Chen clicked his tongue. His second Soul Ring, which had never lit up before, finally lit up at that moment.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, and Bai Chen was blasted backward by the recoil.
The opponent at the center of the explosion was finally completely defeated as well.
"Whew."
Only then did Bai Chen truly relax.
His other self also possessed the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Right Palm Bone. If he had not been mistaken, Huo Yuhao had intended to strike him once more with the Darkgolden Terrorclaw before dying.
It would have been troublesome if Huo Yuhao had successfully unleashed it, so Bai Chen had immediately used the strongest offensive method currently available to him.
His second soul skill, Evil Explosion Technique. From the name alone, it was clear that it was similar to Ice Blast Technique and Corpse Blast Technique.
The effect of this soul skill was to detonate the Evil Power Bai Chen released, achieving the greatest possible instant lethality.
The Evil Attribute itself possessed extremely powerful corrosive properties. Combined with this soul skill, its troublesome nature was multiplied.
At that moment, the mechanical voice finally sounded again.
"Assessment complete. You have successfully passed all current assessments. You may now leave."
As the words fell, a gentle white pillar of light descended from above and landed not far in front of Bai Chen.
Bai Chen straightened his clothes and stepped into the white pillar of light.
A familiar pulling sensation came over him. When Bai Chen's vision stabilized again, he had returned to that dark-blue space.
Awaiting him were Zhen Hua's smug expression and Zang Xin's face, which looked as though he had seen a ghost.
It was no wonder he reacted that way. The Ultimate Assessment represented the highest difficulty of the Hall of Heroes challenge. Since this technology had been developed, not a single person had ever passed the Ultimate Assessment overseen by the Huo Yuhao Phantom.
And every person who had successfully reached the Ultimate Assessment had become one of the greatest figures of their era.
Yet Bai Chen, a six-year-old child, had actually passed it?
Moreover, from Zang Xin's perspective, Bai Chen had passed the final stage with remarkable ease. The battle had ended in less than three seconds.
Zhen Hua chuckled and said to Zang Xin, "Well, sir? Didn't I say this child's talent as a soul master was unparalleled as well?"
In truth, Zhen Hua had not known Bai Chen was this strong before today... but that did not stop him from showing off in front of Zang Xin.
Zang Xin gave Bai Chen a deep look and nodded heavily.
"Yes. His talent is indeed the greatest I have ever seen."
Zang Xin bent down and asked gently, "Child, can you tell me how you defeated your opponent in the final stage?"
"Mm." Bai Chen nodded lightly. "My first soul skill is Time Freeze. Its effect is..."
Then, he told Zang Xin the effects of both his soul skills.
Zang Xin quietly listened to Bai Chen's explanation and could not help sighing deeply.
"No wonder. If that is the case, then it all makes sense."
One soul skill was an overpowering control ability with no warning whatsoever, while the other maximized the offensive power of the Evil Attribute. No wonder Bai Chen had accomplished such a miracle.
The first-time kill potential of those two soul skills combined was extremely strong. In Zang Xin's view, even his Four-Ring self might have fallen to them if he encountered Bai Chen.
Bai Chen thought for a moment, made up his mind, and said to Zang Xin, "Senior Zang Xin, but I discovered that my Martial Soul has a flaw."
"Oh? What flaw?"
Zang Xin blinked in surprise and asked curiously.
Bai Chen said in a grave voice, "My Martial Soul can only advance by devouring life. Normal cultivation is almost incapable of producing growth."
"..."
In an instant, both Zang Xin and Zhen Hua's expressions changed.
That sounded exactly like the talent of an Evil Soul Master.
But they were both highly knowledgeable people, and they quickly calmed themselves.
Zang Xin asked softly, "So what are you trying to say?"
Bai Chen said earnestly, "I hope you can help me find something outside humanity that I can kill freely."
"Mm..."
Hearing that, Zang Xin's somewhat stiff expression immediately softened considerably.
From Bai Chen's words, it was obvious that he had no intention of cultivating by killing people.
That was good. Evil Soul Master was a term for people, not Martial Souls. Even if a Martial Soul was evil, as long as its owner remained kind, that person was not an Evil Soul Master.
Seeing his expression soften again, Bai Chen also breathed a sigh of relief.
In truth, it had taken great courage for Bai Chen to say those words.
Although the Tang Sect also accepted soul masters with Evil Martial Souls, there were probably none as thoroughly evil as his, who could only advance through slaughter.
He did not dare guarantee that Zang Xin would not develop murderous intent.
But since he had already become connected to Zang Xin, it was only a matter of time before his method of advancement was exposed. Rather than conceal it and invite suspicion, it was better to be honest from the beginning. That would instead reduce future risks.
The facts proved that he had made the right gamble. Once Zang Xin realized he had no intention of killing people, he no longer held much hostility toward him.
Tang Sect Six Absolutes
Upon hearing Bai Chen's request, Zhen Hua seemed to think of something and instinctively looked toward Zang Xin.
As a Divine Artisan, he knew many secret matters of the continent, including those concerning the Bloodgod Legion.
He had even helped make Heartless Douluo's Four-Word Battle Armor. In his view, Abyss creatures perfectly met the criteria Bai Chen had described.
Killing people was absolutely unacceptable, and killing Soul Beasts might severely damage the ecological environment. But killing Abyss creatures required no consideration of either issue.
Zang Xin understood the meaning in his gaze. However, he merely shook his head slightly, rejecting Zhen Hua's idea.
Bai Chen could not go to the Abyss, at least not yet.
No matter when it was, going onto the battlefield was not child's play, much less a battlefield where different races fought to the death.
Bai Chen was too weak right now. If anything unexpected happened, he had no ability to protect himself.
It was no exaggeration to say that even the aftershock of a battle between powerful experts could shatter him.
They could not so casually place a genius of this caliber in danger. Before Bai Chen possessed the strength to contend with a Soul Saint, Zang Xin would not allow him to risk himself on the Abyss Battlefield.
Before you continue