The dark-red scythe in Huo Yuhao's hand dipped slightly. Purple-blue arcs of lightning still lingered along its blade.
His earlier strike, "Sin: Arrogance!" had suppressed Ji Juechen, but Huo Yuhao knew it had come nowhere near forcing him to reveal all his trump cards.
Even with his body badly wounded, that man's will remained unbroken.
An uproar swept through the stands.
The Sun Moon Academy students wore complicated expressions. Many had grown used to Huo Yuhao's mental sneak attacks, which were almost impossible to guard against. But this clash of weapons and Soul Skills had cast aside his uncanny eye techniques entirely. It was a head-on collision of strength, domains, and Soul Skills!
"That's Ji Juechen for you! He took a hit from a move like that and still hasn't gone down!"
"Huo Yuhao isn't finishing him off. He's waiting."
Jin Chen tightened his grip on the soul-tool signal flag but did not rashly blow the whistle to end the match.
A friendly match was supposed to stop short of serious harm, but unless one side conceded, the fight could not be forcibly ended.
Huo Yuhao looked at the half-kneeling swordsman, using his Soul Power to suppress the exhaustion churning inside him. His voice carried across the arena. "Can you still fight?"
Ji Juechen clenched the hilt so hard that its rough surface scraped blood from his palm. He braced his shoulder and, through sheer strength, forced his back straight before slowly rising.
He wrenched the black sword from the stone. Its blade trembled with a low hum.
Wounds large and small still seeped blood, and falling drops left dark-red spots across the arena beneath his feet.
Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple rose from beneath him once more. Their light was dimmer than before, but he activated all