Dior Academy's Humiliation

At that moment, Meng Hongchen watched Huo Yuhao remain calm and composed on the stage and could not help complaining about him.

"Isn't Huo Yuhao being way too underhanded?"

"Why are his soul skills so ridiculously overpowered?"

"How are we supposed to fight this?"

Ye Fan spoke up at just the right moment. "Actually, you've all fallen into a misunderstanding."

"Xiaofan, what do you mean?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Ye Fan's words.

Ye Fan continued, "Think about it. Even if Huo Yuhao can copy other people's soul skills—"

"Can he copy our soul tools out of thin air?"

As soon as he said that, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the others' eyes lit up.

"That's right. We're practically Huo Yuhao's natural nemesis."

"Hahaha!"

Even Ma Rulong could not help bursting into laughter.

Their laughter drew the attention of Xu Jiujiu and the others nearby.

"Miss, what are the people from Sun Moon Royal Academy laughing about?"

The Nebula Douluo beside Xu Jiujiu asked her curiously.

Xu Jiujiu raised her eyes toward Ye Fan in the distance and said leisurely, "Perhaps they realized that Huo Yuhao's soul skills are naturally countered by soul tools."

"Is that so? No wonder they're laughing so happily."

"Miss, Huo Yuhao's soul skills are far too outrageous."

"Being able to transfer other people's soul skills would already be incredible, but he can even copy them? This old woman has never heard of such a thing in all her life."

Xu Jiujiu nodded in agreement. "Grandma Man Yi, let's keep watching. We can discuss how to deal with Shrek Academy after we return."

"Alright~"

On the stage, the clash between Huo Yuhao's and Jiang Peng's soul skills continued.

Still unwilling to accept it, Jiang Peng unleashed his soul skills again. "Second Soul Skill—Earth-Shaking Impact!"

"Third Soul Skill—Giant Strength Amplification!"

"Fourth Soul Skill—Heaven-Shaking Mad Axe!"

"Fifth Soul Skill—Thousand Axe Shadows!"

"Sixth Soul Skill—Heaven-Shaking Dominant Body!"

Huo Yuhao accepted them all without hesitation, replicating Jiang Peng's soul skills and striking back at him with them.

The moment their soul skills collided, a massive explosion erupted.

When the smoke and dust dispersed, both sides had retreated several steps. Jiang Peng had taken the full force of the soul skill explosion head-on and looked utterly bedraggled, his eyes filled with frustration.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, had transferred the damage away with his Divine Might soul skill and was completely unharmed. He had only stepped back to avoid the lingering shockwave from the explosion.

The situation was extraordinarily strange. Huo Yuhao was only a Soul Elder, yet he was fighting a Soul Emperor like Jiang Peng to a standstill.

Moreover, Jiang Peng was clearly injured while Huo Yuhao was completely unscathed. Judging purely from the result, Jiang Peng had lost.

Anyone with eyes could see that if Jiang Peng continued like this, he would be the only one who could lose.

"Why? What gives you the right to use my soul skills?"

Jiang Peng refused to accept it. Dragging his depleted body forward, he charged at Huo Yuhao, no longer intending to compete with him through soul skills.

It was simply a contest of physical strength.

But that gave Huo Yuhao the opening he needed.

"Third Soul Skill, Tsukuyomi."

Seizing the opportunity, Huo Yuhao activated his third soul skill. The markings above his Spirit Eyes first spread apart, then converged again. Just as Jiang Peng was about to reach him, Jiang Peng froze before Huo Yuhao. Then, under Huo Yuhao's control, he declared, "I concede!"

The entire arena erupted into an uproar.

"Match fixing! Match fixing!"

Countless spectators who had bet on Dior Academy to win began crazily cursing Dior Academy.

When the referee heard Jiang Peng concede, he was equally dumbfounded.

What was going on? Hadn't they just been fighting for their lives, on the verge of a life-and-death struggle?

Why had Jiang Peng suddenly surrendered the moment he reached Huo Yuhao?

However, that was not the referee's concern.

He was only responsible for protecting the contestants and determining victory and defeat.

With Jiang Peng conceding, the referee could only announce helplessly, "Huo Yuhao wins this match!"

"Shrek Academy advances to the top four!"

Below the stage, Huo Yuhao's third soul skill had Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Ma Rulong, Xu Jiujiu, and members of the other teams arguing heatedly.

"Is Huo Yuhao ever going to stop?"

"Another underhanded soul skill just popped up."

Ye Fan stepped in to calm everyone down. "Don't panic. According to my Soul Spirit's senses, Huo Yuhao's third soul skill is a spiritual-type attack that can drag people into an illusion."

"And control their bodies."

"Is that so? Then how are we supposed to defend against it?"

Meng Hongchen raised the crucial question.

Ye Fan glanced at Meng Hongchen, then continued under everyone's expectant gazes. "You all saw it. Huo Yuhao only chose to use his third soul skill when Jiang Peng was furious and on the verge of collapse."

"So I conclude that his skill has prerequisites. First, the target's mental state must be unstable."

"Second, the target's spiritual power must be weaker than the caster's."

Upon hearing that, everyone's expressions immediately fell.

"If Huo Yuhao's spiritual power can suppress even a Soul Emperor, then how are we supposed to defend against it?"

Seeing their expressions darken again, Ye Fan reassured them, "There's no need to worry. I have a way to deal with Huo Yuhao."

"Really?"

Meng Hongchen and the others looked at Ye Fan eagerly.

"Really!"

As he spoke, Ye Fan summoned the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. "Tianmeng, it's up to you."

"Understood!"

At Ye Fan's signal, the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm launched a spiritual attack at everyone. Instantly, its million-year spiritual power became a mental barrier around them.

"This is... such terrifying spiritual power."

"With spiritual power like this, forget Huo Yuhao's Tsukuyomi."

"I feel like I could cast Tsukuyomi on Huo Yuhao instead."

Hearing that, Ye Fan gave a dark chuckle. "Exactly."

"Huo Yuhao, I'm waiting to give you a surprise."

On the stage, the members of Dior Academy stepped forward to check on Jiang Peng, who was still mentally dazed. "Captain, are you alright?!"

"What happened?"

Jiang Peng woke from the illusion and saw the spectators below leaving their seats.

He hurriedly asked his teammates, "How did it go? Did we win?"

"Captain, we lost!"

"What? Why? I clearly saw the other side surrender!"

Jiang Peng could not believe it.

But his teammates explained what had happened. After hearing the full account, Jiang Peng found it utterly impossible to accept.

A dignified Soul Emperor had actually lost to a mere Soul Elder. Worse still, he had been toyed with from beginning to end, then publicly declared Dior Academy's surrender in front of powers from across the continent.

"Humiliating. Absolutely humiliating!"

Jiang Peng wanted nothing more than to slam himself into a nearby pillar, but his teammates grabbed him and pulled him away.

Held back tightly by his teammates, Jiang Peng could only throw back his head and howl, "Huo Yuhao!~"

But all that awaited him was the mockery and contempt of the countless spectators who had bet on them to win.

"Trash!"

"A dignified Soul Emperor lost to a Soul Elder!"

"Were you sent by monkeys to be a joke?"

The members of Dior Academy could not stand it any longer and wanted to teach those troublemaking spectators a lesson.

But Jiang Peng stopped them. "They're telling the truth."

Then Jiang Peng led Dior Academy out of the arena with their heads hung low.

Elsewhere, Ye Fan, Xu Jiujiu, and the others were still gathered at the betting counter, collecting their Gold Soul Coins.

This round, Xu Jiujiu had followed Ye Fan and bet on Shrek Academy's victory, earning eight million Gold Soul Coins. However, compared to the previous twenty-million-Gold-Soul-Coin deficit, it was still far from enough.

"Ye Fan, who are you betting on in the next match?"