Upgrade Assessment, the Undead Emerge

"Ahem. What are you saying, boy?"

Mu En coughed twice, at a loss for words.

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

Ma Xiaotao nodded obediently and sat down.

Chi Hong stepped up to her, pressed his palm against her head, and drew Ultimate Ice straight from the Ice Pillar Plate. He 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 holiday, the boy had only possessed the Flame Plate Mu En had given him, along with Ultimate Fire.

Now he had returned from the holiday with Ultimate Ice as well. That made it much easier to suppress the evil fire within Xiaotao.

Did he go to the Far North?

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

That was unmistakably the aura of that Ferocious Beast.

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

He understood Mu En's character, and if he wanted to obtain the Splash Plate, he had to reveal some information anyway.

Besides, he still had Kyurem in a Poké Ball.

Time passed slowly. Before long...

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

"The evil fire has eaten too deeply into her. She's also a Soul Emperor, far stronger than me. It'll take time to root it out completely."

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

Still, her condition looked much better.

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

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

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

Chi Hong sounded surprised.

"Don't change the subject. Answer me."

Chi Hong sent back:

"Without physical contact, the transfer works much worse. Look, that woman passed out in no time. But if you want me to pat your head, we can try that too. I don't mind."

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

After that outburst, the Ice Empress fell silent again.

Mu En checked Ma Xiaotao's condition and nodded in satisfaction. "I was right about you. Go take your second-year advancement exam. I hope to see you become an Inner Court student soon."

An Inner Court student?

Chi Hong recalled in his mind that the Advanced Continental Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament seemed to be taking place this year.

Wouldn't that mean a whole lot more experience points were coming my way?

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

Then he could found a sect of his own, enter it, and sweep aside every sect and academy on the continent.

The Beast Arena.

Chi Hong watched a dispute not far away with keen interest.

Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had still made their wager: the loser would kowtow to the winner.

First, Dai Huabin used his White Tiger Martial Soul to defeat a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, earning a high score of 145 points.

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

As Huo Yuhao stood in the Beast Arena, his aura gradually grew lifeless and dark. A gray Soul Ring appeared before him.

The students around the arena felt a chill run through them. It was not the cold of their surroundings, but a cold deep in their hearts, as though death itself had seized them by the throat.

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, deep as an abyss.

The next instant, a pale skeletal arm reached out and gripped the ground. Then the whole skeleton hauled itself free.

Clack—clack—

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

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

All it could do was roar, trying to drive them back.

Some students screamed in fear.

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

"Isn't he an Evil Soul Master? We can't have someone like that among our classmates."

Wang Dong rebuked them angrily:

"What are you screaming for? This is perfectly normal! They're just cute little soldiers with long, snow-white legs. Why be such cowards?"

Watching the scene, Chi Hong understood:

That must be Electrolux's Martial Soul, the Holy Necromancer. If the Holy Spirit Cult saw this, would they take Huo Yuhao straight in as their holy son?

He turned toward the two Pokémon beside him.

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

Charizard crossed his arms confidently, acting as though he was not afraid at all. But his eyes, which refused to look, and his faintly trembling legs gave him away.

Greninja looked curious instead, as though he wanted to fight the skeletons himself.

Chi Hong was a little surprised. Greninja was a Dark type, so it made sense that he was not afraid.

But Charizard was actually frightened of these creepy things. That was unexpected.

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

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

"Yuhao, show the people who look down on us how terrifying a Necromancer can be!"

Tian Meng's phantom pumped his fist beside him, cheering him on.

Electrolux watched calmly. Seeing his legacy live on undoubtedly pleased him.

Huo Yuhao's gaze remained indifferent as he pointed forward.

At his command, the Skeleton Soldiers marched toward the Flame Lion King with clattering steps, closing in around it.

The Flame Lion King could hold back no longer. It opened its mouth and spewed a burst of flame, engulfing several skeletons at the front.

They crumbled to ash across the ground.

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. The Gate of the Undead remained open, and fresh skeletons kept crawling through it.

He raised a hand, and the ashes in the arena slowly rose and gathered. The destroyed skeletons re-formed.

More and more skeletons appeared, all attacking the lion king. Some climbed onto its back and drove their Bone Blades deep into its hide.

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

But the fearless skeletons surrounded it, using their Bone Edges to slice and strip the flesh from its body, bit by bit.

It howled in agony.

"Enough."

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

He looked at Huo Yuhao with wary eyes.

"What kind of technique is that? Why are you so cruel?"

Zhou Yi could not hold back either. She strode over, her face sour.

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

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

"An Evil Soul Master? Cruel? Wasn't the way Dai Huabin brutalized his beast 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 actually standing up for himself now. Interesting.