The Championship! (Part Two)

Zhu Lu's slit pupils were cold as ice. Black Soul Power coated her sharp claws as she aimed straight for Huo Yuhao's back. Her icy voice rang with certainty of victory. "First Soul Skill: Hell Stab!"

An Agility Attack Department Soul Master's killing blow had to be fast, precise, and ruthless. It depended on catching the perfect moment while the target was pinned down from the front, then crippling the enemy's core in a single strike.

But she had forgotten that someone in Huo Yuhao's team had yet to make a move.

Just as her claws were about to touch Huo Yuhao's back, a cool female voice rang out. It held no emotion, yet carried an authority that brooked no refusal. "Second Soul Skill: Elemental Mastery: Ice Wall!"

An azure Ice Wall, half a meter thick, appeared out of thin air behind Huo Yuhao, directly in Zhu Lu's path.

Clang!

With a sharp ring, Zhu Lu's Hell Stab slammed into the Ice Wall and left only a few scratches. The recoil sent her stumbling backward, her arm numb. Her ambush had been completely broken.

The one who had acted was Gu Yue, who had stood at the very back of the team all along.

She wore a white school uniform, her black hair falling around her shoulders. No emotion showed in her amethyst eyes, as though the fight before her was beneath her notice.

Since the match began, that had been her only move, yet it had stopped an Agility Attack Department Soul Master's killing blow cold.

It wasn't that she couldn't fight.

With her strength, let alone one Dai Huabin and one Zhu Lu, even ten of them together wouldn't be enough for her to crush with a single finger!

She was simply waiting for Huo Yuhao to settle this grudge with his own hands.

She and Ning Tian had long since heard Huo Yuhao tell them, word by word, about his past and the suffering his mother had endured. There were no secrets between them.

All she needed to do was keep every distraction out of his way, so he could seek the justice owed to him without holding back!!

Huo Yuhao did not even look back. Myriad Clarity had long since predicted Zhu Lu's ambush, and Gu Yue's intervention was exactly what he had expected.

He turned slowly and looked at Zhu Lu, whose breathing was ragged from the recoil and whose face was full of shock. The gentle smile finally faded from his face, leaving only bone-deep cold in his eyes. He gave a soft laugh, but his voice was as cold as winter ice. "Perfect timing."

Perhaps he was taking his anger out on her, but Huo Yuhao saw nothing wrong with that.

His character had never been perfect.

He had never been some flawless saint.

He was a flesh-and-blood person, with hatred, anger, and selfish desires!!

But today, he did not want a quick victory.

He wanted to tear apart everything Dai Huabin prided himself on, piece by piece, right before his eyes!

He wanted Dai Huabin to play his proudest trump card, then crush it to dust with his own hands and make him understand, once and for all, that they were as far apart as clouds and mud.

A chill gripped Zhu Lu's heart under Huo Yuhao's gaze. Gritting her teeth, she drove her Soul Power again, and her Second Soul Ring flashed wildly. "Second Soul Skill: Netherworld Shadow Clone!"

Three identical figures appeared on the field and attacked Huo Yuhao from three directions. Black Soul Power coated their claws, and every strike was vicious and cunning!

But through Myriad Clarity, the difference in Soul Power fluctuations between the clones and the real Zhu Lu stood out like firelight in the dark.

Huo Yuhao neither dodged nor retreated. He stepped forward as the Nine-Turn Origin Art quietly circulated, driving his physical strength to its peak.

As though taking a leisurely stroll, he slipped past the attacks of two clones and faced the real Zhu Lu head-on.

Under Zhu Lu's stunned gaze, Huo Yuhao raised a hand and caught her swinging wrist with perfect precision. His fingers tightened slightly, pressing directly against a point where her Soul Power flowed.

Crack.

Agony shot through Zhu Lu's wrist. Her Soul Power faltered, and all the strength drained from her body. Even her Martial Soul was nearly forced out of its possession state.

She grunted in pain and was about to struggle when Huo Yuhao seized the back of her collar and lifted her off the ground like a kitten.

The whole thing took no more than two breaths.

Zhu Lu was an Agility Attack Department Soul Elder, yet the speed and assassination techniques she took such pride in were no more than children's tricks before Huo Yuhao.

On the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe could not help exclaiming, "This kid... he's that strong in close combat too? That physical strength is nothing like a spiritual-type Soul Master's!"

Beside him, Qian Duoduo grinned from ear to ear and swung his legs smugly. "Of course! Look whose disciple he is! Old Yan, you'd better get those three Purple-Rhythm Dragon Emperor Ginseng ready to hand over!"

Below, Huo Yuhao held the helpless Zhu Lu and looked toward Dai Huabin, whose face had turned ashen. A mocking smile curled his lips.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he hurled Zhu Lu straight at Dai Huabin!

Zhu Lu flew toward Dai Huabin like a kite with its string cut. His pupils contracted, and he instinctively reached out to catch her. The force of their collision drove him another step back. His already unsettled Soul Power surged again, and the taste of blood grew stronger in his throat.

"Dai Huabin, I've sent your helper back to you." Huo Yuhao dusted off his hands, though there was nothing on them. His gentle smile returned, but every word he spoke struck at the heart. "I know you're not even qualified to be my warm-up on your own."

"Aren't you proudest of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill shared by the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and the Nether Civet Family?"

"I'll give you the chance."

"Use Hell White Tiger. I'll take both of you together."

"Otherwise, even your defeat today won't have a shred of dignity."

At those words, the entire arena fell deathly silent.

Dai Huabin held Zhu Lu in his arms. Her breathing was ragged and her wrist dislocated, while his whole body trembled.

Not from fear, but from rage and humiliation!

He was the legitimate son of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, the freshman everyone acknowledged as the strongest in his year. Yet a lowborn commoner had forced him to the point where he needed to join forces with someone else and use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill just to fight!

Worse, that chance had been "handed" to him by his opponent!

But he had to admit that Huo Yuhao was telling the truth.

Cui Yajie was out, Zhu Lu was badly hurt, and he himself had suffered internal injuries. Alone, he had no chance of winning.

His only chance to turn the tables was their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Hell White Tiger!

It was the ultimate fusion of their two powerful Beast Martial Souls. Though they were only Soul Elders, the fusion skill could rival a Soul King's all-out strike!

It was his last trump card, his last source of pride.

"Huo Yuhao... you're asking for death!" Dai Huabin roared through gritted teeth, each word forced out separately.

He looked down at Zhu Lu in his arms. Biting her lip, she gave him a firm nod, her eyes full of venom and resentment.

The next instant, both of them unleashed all their Soul Power!

The light of Dai Huabin's White Tiger Martial Soul surged, while Zhu Lu's Nether Civet Martial Soul released a black halo. One white and one black, the two streams of light entwined and merged perfectly.

An immense pressure of Soul Power swept across the entire Assessment Area, sending ripples through even the Protective Barrier.

A deafening tiger's roar rang out!

A Hell White Tiger appeared in the center of the field. It was over five meters long, snow-white from head to tail, with purple-black markings across its body.

Terrifying waves of Soul Power rushed outward. This was Soul King-level strength, enough to crush any freshman!

On the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe, who had been watching casually, sat bolt upright, his face grave. "He really forced out Hell White Tiger! Those two have such a high degree of compatibility? Its power is already close to a Five-Ring Soul King's!"

The smile vanished from Qian Duoduo's face, and his fingers tightened slightly. Still, he forced himself to sound calm. "What are you panicking for? If Yuhao dared let them use it, he has a way to break it!"

Below, Hell White Tiger's golden slit pupils locked onto Huo Yuhao. Bearing down on him with world-shattering pressure, it let out a deafening roar.

Dai Huabin's and Zhu Lu's voices joined as one, filled with frenzied hatred. "Huo Yuhao! You brought this on yourself! Die!"

Hell White Tiger charged at Huo Yuhao with unstoppable force. Wherever it passed, its Soul Power tore cracks through the ground!

But Huo Yuhao stood where he was without a trace of fear. Instead, his smile grew wider.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

In front of the entire academy's teachers, he would cut down Dai Huabin's last source of pride—this so-called Hell White Tiger—with his own hands!

Golden light flared to its peak within his Heavenly Eye. His First and Second Soul Rings lit up together, the Nine-Turn Origin Art ran at full power, and Ning Tian's support enhanced him to perfection.

He turned his right hand, and the Imperial Bow appeared once more. This time, not one arrow but three platinum arrows formed upon its string!

He looked at the oncoming Hell White Tiger. His clear voice rang across the arena with unquestionable authority:

"Dai Huabin, do you think using Hell White Tiger makes you worthy of being my opponent?"

"Today, I'll show you that before absolute strength, that bloodline talent you're so proud of doesn't even qualify as a joke!"