Upgrade Assessment, the Undead Emerge

"Ahem. What are you saying, kid?"

Mu En coughed twice, at a loss for words.

Chi Hong smiled. "Just kidding. Sit down cross-legged, and I'll help you."

Ma Xiaotao nodded obediently and sat down.

Chi Hong stepped up to her and pressed a palm to her head. He drew Ultimate Ice straight from the Ice Pillar Plate and poured it into Ma Xiaotao, suppressing and purifying the evil fire within her.

Mu En watched silently from the side, his eyes gleaming.

Before the break, the boy had only possessed the Flame Plate Mu En had given him, which granted Ultimate Fire.

Yet after one break, he had gained Ultimate Ice. That made suppressing the evil fire inside Xiaotao much easier.

Did the boy go to the Far North?

A Plate had fallen in the Far North years ago, and just now, the phantom of an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion had appeared behind the boy.

That was unmistakably the aura of that Ferocious Beast.

Chi Hong knew Mu En could probably see through him, but he did not mind.

For one thing, he knew something of Mu En's character. For another, if he wanted the Splash Plate, he could not avoid revealing certain things.

And even in the worst case, he still had a Poké Ball containing Kyurem.

Time passed slowly. Before long—

Chi Hong withdrew his hand, sweat covering his forehead, and said:

"The evil fire has eaten too deep into her body. She's also a Soul Emperor, far stronger than me. It'll take more time to get rid of it completely."

Ma Xiaotao said nothing. Her eyes closed, and she toppled to the ground. Chi Hong had poured so much power into her that she had passed out.

Still, she looked much better.

The Ice Empress's voice sounded in Chi Hong's mind:

"Chi Hong, why didn't you need bodily contact to transfer power to this woman? Were you lying to me?"

"Huh? Weren't you resting in seclusion? Why are you still watching?"

Chi Hong was surprised.

"Don't change the subject. Tell me the truth."

Chi Hong sent back:

"The transfer is much less effective without bodily contact. Look, she passed out in no time. Of course, if you want me to pat your head instead, we can try that. I wouldn't mind."

"In your dreams! I would never let a human like you touch my head."

After shouting that, the Ice Empress fell silent again.

Mu En checked Ma Xiaotao's condition and nodded with satisfaction. "I was right about you. Go back and take the second-year upgrade assessment. I hope to see you join the Inner Court soon."

An Inner Court student?

Chi Hong thought back. If he remembered correctly, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament was being held this year.

Then won't there be plenty more experience points waiting for me?

Unfortunately, only academies could participate in this year's Soul Master Tournament. If it were the next one, hosted by the Sun Moon Empire, sects could participate too.

By then, I could found a sect and sweep through every sect and academy on the continent.

The Beast Arena.

Chi Hong watched the argument nearby with interest.

Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had still made their wager: whoever lost would kowtow to the other.

Dai Huabin went first. Using his White Tiger Martial Soul, he defeated a Thousand-Year Soul Beast and earned a high score of 145 points.

Huo Yuhao had also chosen a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Just as in the original story, it was a Flame Lion King.

Standing in the Beast Arena, Huo Yuhao's aura gradually turned lifeless and bleak. A gray Soul Ring appeared before him.

The students in the arena felt a chill run through them. It did not come from the air, but from deep inside, as though death itself had gripped their throats.

Then Huo Yuhao pointed with one hand and called out, "Gate of the Undead!"

Whoosh—

A sinister wind swept past. A hollow gray doorway appeared in the ground before him, dark as an abyss.

The next moment, a pale skeletal arm reached out and gripped the ground. An entire skeleton hauled itself free.

Clack—clack—

Skeleton after skeleton emerged, forming a band of Skeleton Soldiers.

The Flame Lion King had never seen anything so strange. Its instincts told it that the human before it and those walking bones were terrifying.

It could only roar, trying to drive them back.

Some students shrieked in fear.

"Ah! What are those things? Skeletons? That's terrifying!"

"He's an Evil Soul Master, isn't he? We can't have someone like that as our classmate."

Wang Dong rebuked them indignantly:

"What gives you the right to complain? There's nothing wrong with this! They're just a bunch of cute little soldiers with long, snow-white legs. Why are you so scared?"

Watching the scene, Chi Hong understood.

So that's Electrolux's Martial Soul, the Holy Necromancer. If the Holy Spirit Cult saw this, would they drag Huo Yuhao back and make him their Holy Son?

He turned to the two Pokémon beside him.

"You two aren't afraid of ghosts, are you?"

Charizard crossed its arms confidently, making it clear that it was not scared at all. Its eyes, which refused to look, and its slightly trembling legs gave it away.

Greninja was curious instead. It seemed eager to go up and fight the skeletons itself.

Chi Hong found that surprising. Greninja had Dark-type abilities, so its lack of fear made sense.

But Charizard was actually afraid of these eerie things. Who would have thought?

By now, the atmosphere in the Beast Arena had grown tense.

The Flame Lion King stared at the Skeleton Soldiers and growled low in its throat. Its mane bristled as it took a defensive stance.

"Yuhao, let's show these people who look down on us how terrifying a Necromancer can be!"

Tian Meng's phantom waved a fist beside him, cheering him on.

Electrolux watched calmly. Seeing his legacy live on clearly brought him comfort.

Huo Yuhao's gaze was impassive as he pointed forward.

At his command, the Skeleton Soldiers marched toward the Flame Lion King, their bones clattering as they closed in.

The Flame Lion King could hold back no longer. It opened its jaws and spat a mass of flames, engulfing the first few skeletons.

They crumbled into ash across the ground.

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. The Gate of the Undead remained open, and more Skeleton Soldiers kept crawling out.

He raised a hand. The ashes in the arena slowly lifted and gathered, and the destroyed skeletons rose again.

Their numbers swelled. They all attacked the lion king, some climbing onto its back and driving their Bone Blades deep through its hide.

The Flame Lion King roared in pain and thrashed furiously, trying to shake the skeletons off its back.

But the fearless skeletons swarmed around it, using their Bone Edges to tear away its flesh bit by bit.

It howled in agony.

"Enough."

Du Weilun used his Soul Power to disperse every skeleton. By then, the lion king had been savaged into a bloody mess and was barely alive.

He looked at Huo Yuhao warily.

"What kind of technique was that? Why were you so cruel?"

Zhou Yi could not hold back either. She came over with a sour look on her face:

"Huo Yuhao, you wretched student! You learned the methods of an Evil Soul Master just to grow stronger!"

Huo Yuhao withdrew his Martial Soul and the skeletons, then took a deep breath.

"An Evil Soul Master? Cruel? Wasn't Dai Huabin's brutal attack just now cruel too? Why am I the only one you're accusing? Is it because he's the White Tiger Duke's son?"

Chi Hong's eyes lit up in surprise.

Huo Yuhao's willing to fight back now. Interesting.