Huo Yuhao could hold his own against Ma Xiaotao when her evil fire ran out of control. Instantly taking down Xu Sanshi at this stage was still a simple matter for him.
In his current predicament, Xu Sanshi did not even have time to unleash his signature Xuanming Displacement before Huo Yuhao pinned him beneath him.
A pale golden streak of light extended from Huo Yuhao's hand. Like a hot knife through butter, it pierced the flesh of Xu Sanshi's forehead, making him feel salty blood trickling down his head.
"You... you, Huo Yuhao, you'd better think this through! This is the Treasure Appraisal Fair! If you start slaughtering people here, your future is finished!"
Only now did Xu Sanshi finally come to his senses, escaping the scorching waves of love. At heart, he still loved himself more. He immediately issued a trembling warning to Huo Yuhao, fierce on the outside but fainthearted within.
Huo Yuhao's gaze was ice-cold. He utterly despised Dai Hao for throwing him into a military camp at six years old, and even using his six-year-old self as bait.
But in that military camp, he had been forced to hone a sufficiently cold and ruthless killing intent, along with the murderous aura found only in veterans of a hundred battles.
Against an ivory-tower disciple like Xu Sanshi, sheltered by both his sect and an elite academy and barely exposed to bloodshed, the difference was simply that between an eagle and a chick.
"When it comes to being a man, you had a few years' head start on me. But when it comes to dealing with people, I've got dozens of ways to kill you. I'm not letting you off just like that today. Otherwise, you high-and-mighty so-called seniors will all come pestering me one after another. I didn't come to the academy to be your sparring partner."
Xu Sanshi was almost scared out of his mind. He could clearly sense that Huo Yuhao was not joking at all. His words carried an incomparably pure, intense malice.
It felt as though the one staring at him was not a student several years below him, but a ferocious beast that had emerged from the Wilds Forest.
Just then, a voice carrying a hint of ancient elegance rang out in their minds.
"A little friction between young people is perfectly normal, but taking things too far is not. My Treasure Appraisal Fair values harmony above all. You must not act recklessly."
Huo Yuhao sneered, then addressed the air above him.
"Now you come out to uphold justice? When they were making those ridiculous wagers earlier, I didn't see you come out to let so much as a fart. This absolutely isn't ending peacefully today."
Xu Sanshi spoke to Huo Yuhao in a trembling voice.
"Junior Huo... no, Brother Huo, there's a Storage Soul Tool in my pocket. It has three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and three Mystic Water Pills inside. Take them as compensation. Please spare my life!"
Huo Yuhao snorted coldly, then reluctantly loosened his grip a fraction and said to Xu Sanshi,
"Sparing you is easy, but the academy has too many rich kids. If I only take your things, I'm afraid that won't keep them in line."
With that, Huo Yuhao drove his fist down. Three tooth-aching cracks of breaking bone rang out, and Xu Sanshi let out a scream before his entire body slumped sharply to one side.
Huo Yuhao's punch was powerful and heavy, forcibly breaking three of Xu Sanshi's ribs. Even with a healing Soul Master's help, Xu Sanshi would have to spend five or six days in bed.
Only after that did Huo Yuhao stand and take the Storage Soul Tool from Xu Sanshi's pocket.
After removing the three Mystic Water Pills and a black card holding three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, Huo Yuhao casually tossed the Storage Soul Tool back onto Xu Sanshi and said to Bei Bei,
"Aren't you and he supposed to be the twin stars? You can drag him back."
Bei Bei was equally stunned with fear. After nodding, he awkwardly went to help Xu Sanshi, hauled him onto his back, and headed out of the Treasure Appraisal Fair.
Meanwhile, Jiang Nannan was quietly making her way outside, only for Huo Yuhao to stop her.
"The person who provoked me has already learned such a harsh lesson. You think you can get away without one? Stay right there!"
Jiang Nannan's body stiffened. Then she turned back and gave Huo Yuhao a bitter smile.
"I originally thought that, as a defensive Soul Master, Xu Sanshi definitely couldn't beat you, a power attack system Soul Master. You would be able to keep him firmly in check. I never expected to end up reaping what I sowed today... I'm sorry."
Huo Yuhao walked up to Jiang Nannan. Just as she was still wondering how he would deal with her, she saw a fist growing larger as it flew toward her.
Jiang Nannan flew sideways out of the Treasure Appraisal Fair. Under Huo Yuhao's punch, her face swelled dramatically, leaving not a trace of her former appearance as the Outer Court's goddess.
As Huo Yuhao wiped the blood from his hand, he said calmly,
"If apologizing after the fact works, then I'll apologize to you now too."
Jiang Nannan lay on the floor outside the Treasure Appraisal Fair for a long time. The female greeters at the entrance exchanged glances, but none dared provoke that god of slaughter upstairs. Naturally, no one dared help her up either.
Only after a long while did Jiang Nannan get to her feet. She nodded in Huo Yuhao's direction, then headed toward Shrek Academy in a similarly bedraggled state.
Ning Tian spoke up from beside him.
"Senior Jiang has quite a reputation in the Outer Court. That punch of yours will probably bring even more trouble."
Huo Yuhao did not lower his voice. Instead, he declared extremely loudly,
"Anyone else who doesn't know their place gets killed. No matter how much money they offer, I'll kill them. I refuse to believe I can't beat and kill my way to some peace and quiet."
As soon as he said that, the voice above the Treasure Appraisal Fair rang out again. This time, it was only a soft snort. Then the sensation looming over everyone's heads disappeared.
Ning Tian glanced at Huo Yuhao, then smiled and calmly offered her verdict.
"A sharp tongue and a soft heart, but ruthless methods."
Huo Yuhao did not answer. He simply turned to look at the Soul Bone Wang Dong had her eye on.
Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had yet to recover from Huo Yuhao's swift actions. Only when Huo Yuhao spoke to Wang Dong did they react.
"This is the Soul Bone you want? Tsk, tsk, its price is much prettier than the thing itself! That little windfall I just squeezed out of Xu Sanshi wouldn't even cover the spare change."
Hearing Huo Yuhao speak, Wang Dong finally came to her senses. Then she saw the line his finger was pointing to:
Price of this Soul Bone: nine million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Wang Dong immediately sucked in a cold breath. She knew someone was still watching what happened inside the Treasure Appraisal Fair, but she nevertheless whispered into Huo Yuhao's and Xiao Xiao's ears,
"Isn't this thing ridiculously expensive? Nine million five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins is enough to support an entire army of ten thousand heavy cavalry these days."
Huo Yuhao shrugged, then said to Wang Dong,
"Not that few. It could probably support somewhere between fifteen thousand and ten thousand heavy cavalry. After all, you can trim the men's food rations a little and skim a little off their pay, as long as the horses and equipment aren't lacking."
Wang Dong could not help quietly muttering, "Damn warlord." Then she looked at Huo Yuhao and said, "Isn't this price way too high? I remember there weren't many kinds of Soul Bones that generally cost more than three million. This isn't even a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone..."
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