Too Weak

"Begin!" The referee's token slammed down heavily.

Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eye flashed. Spiritual Detection Sharing activated.

Dai Huabin's furious roar erupted almost in sync with the token hitting the ground. "White Tiger Radiance Wave!" A golden beam of Soul Power tore through the air, charging straight at Huo Yuhao's face with the force to shatter mountains and split rocks. It was nearly half a beat faster than in the simulated battle—he really was eager to end this quickly.

"Enhance!" Ning Tian's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda suddenly lit up. The dual boosts of "strength" and "speed" from her soul skill flowed into Huo Yuhao and Wu Feng like water. She devoted extra Soul Power to Huo Yuhao's enhancement, causing the Soul Power fluctuations around him to surge sharply.

Cui Yajie possessed her Demon Fox Martial Soul and was just about to use a soul skill to control Huo Yuhao when a surge of spiritual power crashed into her Sea of Spirit like a massive hammer.

Cui Yajie spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed limply to the ground.

The referee acted in time, sending Cui Yajie out of the arena so that her fallen teammate would not distract the others still on the field.

Dai Huabin cursed, Trash. But he did not slow down, charging directly at Huo Yuhao.

Rather than retreat, Huo Yuhao advanced. He ground his left foot against the ground, and ice-blue Soul Power burst from beneath his sole, instantly weaving into a Spiral Ice Net. Within its patterns, the orange-red Marrow of Extreme Transformation resonated with the azure-gold enhancement, forming a flowing membrane of light across the net.

Boom! The White Tiger Radiance Wave struck the ice net. Golden light flashed violently, yet it failed to blast through. The spiral patterns were like countless hands, peeling away the impact layer by layer, while the Corrosive Force of the Marrow of Extreme Transformation flowed upstream along the beam and silently slipped into Dai Huabin's Soul Power circulation.

"Urgh!" Dai Huabin grunted. His right arm went numb, and his Soul Power suddenly became sluggish. Confusion flashed through his eyes.

At that moment, a purple shadow shot out from the darkness. Zhu Lu's Netherworld Claw glinted with cold light as it lunged at Huo Yuhao's waist. She had calculated the instant Dai Huabin drew his attention, intending to interrupt Huo Yuhao's soul skill.

"Your opponent is me!" Wu Feng possessed her Martial Soul and unleashed her second soul skill. Flames poured forth like a fan-shaped waterfall, carrying fine shards of ice within the fire curtain. It was the opening move of the coordinated technique she used with Huo Yuhao—Icefire Devour. The flames precisely covered Zhu Lu's path. Her Netherworld Soul Power collided with the wall of intertwined ice and fire, instantly producing a searing sizzle. Zhu Lu cried out and was forced to leap back, her purple eyes full of shock and fury.

"Keep her occupied!" Huo Yuhao shouted at Wu Feng without looking back. At the same time, he flicked his fingers, sending three ice spikes flying through the air. Their tips gleamed azure-gold. They were ice elements fused with the Marrow of Extreme Transformation and Ning Tian's enhancement, aimed unerringly at Dai Huabin's left shoulder, knee, and ankle—all weak points where the White Tiger Martial Soul exerted force, as well as critical junctions of a Soul Master's meridians.

Dai Huabin roared, sweeping his White Tiger Claw across fiercely. Golden Soul Power condensed solidly around his claw tips as he attempted to receive the three ice spikes head-on. But he had forgotten that the sluggishness in his right arm had not yet faded. Before his claw wind arrived, the ice spikes had already skimmed past its edge. They did not clash directly, instead exploding like a disease clinging to the bone. Ice shards wrapped in azure-gold Corrosive Force scattered out and stuck precisely to his left shoulder, knee, and ankle.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Three soft sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Dai Huabin felt icy, burning pain stab through all three joints. His Soul Power felt as if countless fine needles were piercing it, and its once-smooth circulation instantly jammed. He staggered back half a step and looked down. The skin at those three spots had turned faintly blue-black, while the golden glow of his White Tiger Martial Soul flickered intensely there, as if struggling against the Corrosive Force.

"What kind of power is this?!" Dai Huabin was both shocked and enraged. He had never seen such bizarre power—it could not freeze flesh, yet it could directly erode Soul Power meridians. It was even more troublesome than simple freezing.

"This is called Ultimate Transformation." Huo Yuhao's voice came through the ice net, calm yet penetrating. "It is made specifically for Soul Power like yours, the kind that only knows how to fight head-on." As he spoke, the Spiral Ice Net beneath his feet began to rotate again. This time, it was no longer defensive; it transformed into countless strands of Ice Silk that curled along Dai Huabin's retreating path. The azure-gold Corrosive Force on them was even stronger than before.

Ning Tian's Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda shone brighter, and another enhancement silently joined in. A faint golden glow settled over Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao's fingers twitched, and the Ice Silk instantly changed direction, coiling around Dai Huabin's left shoulder like agile serpents.

On the other side, Wu Feng and Zhu Lu were fighting fiercely. Zhu Lu's Hell Spirit Cat excelled in speed. Several times, she tried to slip around the fire curtain and launch a sneak attack, only to be forced back by Wu Feng's Icefire Devour. As Soul Power surged, flames and ice shards exploded in alternating bursts, forming an impenetrable barrier. Every time Zhu Lu's Netherworld Claw touched it, the dual force of ice and fire numbed her. The shock and fury in her purple eyes gradually turned to impatience.

"Stop dodging! If you have the guts, fight me head-on!" Wu Feng had grown sick of chasing her. The flames abruptly surged, condensing into the phantom image of a Fire Dragon before her. Huo Yuhao's Soul Power wrapped around the phantom's claw tips, giving off a faint blue glow.

The Fire Dragon phantom dove down with an ice-and-fire roar, the icy-blue light at its claws glittering like cold stars. That was the Ultimate Transformation Soul Power Huo Yuhao had temporarily passed to Wu Feng, specifically meant to counter the shadow attribute of the Hell Spirit Cat. Zhu Lu's pupils contracted sharply. Finally daring not to keep dodging, she forcefully activated her second soul skill, Hell Stab. Her body transformed into a streak of purple-black lightning as she tried to slip beneath the Fire Dragon's armpit and circle around toward Huo Yuhao.

But Wu Feng had long been prepared. She beat her wings fiercely, and the Fire Dragon phantom instantly expanded. Flames and ice shards poured down like a storm, completely sealing Zhu Lu's escape route. "Trying to run? Too late!" Wu Feng shrieked as the Fire Dragon's claw slammed down. Icy blue and crimson light collided with the purple-black figure in a deafening explosion.

"Pfft—" Zhu Lu was blasted back into view, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. Her Netherworld Soul Power fluctuated violently; she had clearly suffered serious injuries. She staggered backward, looking at her right arm, which had been both frostbitten and burned. Fear finally appeared on her face—this dual force of ice and fire could actually tear directly through her Soul Power defenses.

"Got one!" Wu Feng proudly shook her claws. The Fire Dragon phantom dissipated as she turned toward Dai Huabin. "Yuhao, I'm coming to help you!"

At this point, Dai Huabin was bound so tightly by the Ice Silk that he could barely move. The blue-black color on his left shoulder had spread to his chest, and the light of his White Tiger Martial Soul had dimmed like a dying candle. Seeing Zhu Lu injured, madness rose in his eyes. He suddenly let out a furious roar and forcibly shattered the Ice Silk around his left arm, allowing the Corrosive Force to spread through the wound as he gathered the last of his Soul Power in his right arm. "White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

Dai Huabin's body suddenly expanded by half a foot. His formerly sleek golden fur stood upright like steel needles, each strand gleaming with metallic luster. Fine golden patterns emerged across his skin, as if he had been covered in a layer of vajra armor. This was the defensive enhancement soul skill of the White Tiger Martial Soul, White Tiger Vajra Transformation. It burned a portion of his Soul Power in exchange for a massive short-term increase in defense and explosive strength.

"Roar—!" He bellowed wildly. The blue-black Corrosive Force on his right arm was actually forced back half an inch by that burst of Soul Power. His golden tiger claw tore through the air and slammed viciously toward the Ice Silk wrapped around his left shoulder. This time, the Ice Silk let out a sharp creak, and fine cracks appeared across it.

"So he really is risking everything." Huo Yuhao smiled faintly. His Spirit Eye caught the disorder in Dai Huabin's Soul Power core. White Tiger Vajra Transformation was powerful, but it could not eradicate the Corrosive Force of the Marrow of Extreme Transformation. Instead, by forcibly pushing his Soul Power to its limit, Dai Huabin only made the Corrosive Force crash through his meridians even more violently.