Just as the Mist Arena was about to take shape, a green figure suddenly lunged toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao froze. In that moment of hesitation, the Soul Douluo had already hurled a black claw strike at him.
Huo Yuhao no longer held anything back. A white light flashed from the Snow Empress's Soul Bone, and a white palm flew toward the black claw in midair.
Snow Empress's Three Absolutes—Emperor's Palm, Great Cold Without Snow!
After being sealed within the Soul Bone, this Soul Skill could no longer match the power it had possessed when the Snow Empress herself unleashed it, but it could still be reproduced perfectly.
Once Huo Yuhao's cultivation surpassed the Snow Empress's in the future, he could even make this Soul Skill evolve again.
The white palm collided with the black claw. The black claw dissipated first, and a faint white palm imprint then struck his opponent's chest.
At the same time, to bring the Snow Empress's Soul Bone fully into play, Huo Yuhao switched to his snow Martial Soul.
This was snow on a conceptual level, representing the natural phenomenon of snowfall. Thus, pristine white snow began drifting down from the sky, the temperature gradually fell, and the Martial Soul's own power grew stronger.
Without the slightest hesitation, Huo Yuhao also unleashed the domain-type Soul Skill among the Snow Empress's Three Absolutes, Emperor Cold Heaven: Snow Dance Shining Sun.
Amid the dancing snowflakes, everything within three hundred meters became a forbidden realm for mortals. The Soul Douluo clicked his tongue.
"Looks like I was right to join the fun. Someone like you, who can restrict a Soul Douluo's abilities while you're only a Soul King, will undoubtedly become a thorn in our sect's heart if you're allowed to reach greater heights."
As he spoke, the black figure suddenly revealed his Martial Soul: a black shortsword.
On the shortsword's guard was an open, blood-red eye, which likewise stared at Huo Yuhao without a trace of emotion.
Using those two attacks to put a little distance between himself and the Soul Douluo, Huo Yuhao finally saw that the green figure rushing toward him was Xiao Xiao.
"Shit, didn't I tell you to leave? Why did you come back?"
Xiao Xiao drew a deep breath. A bloody gash still marked her body, and she spoke in a bedraggled state.
"When I was running this way just now, I spotted that Soul Douluo from far away. I immediately turned to run, but the sword energy he threw out grazed me. If I hadn't dodged in time, I'd probably be dead already."
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath and stroked Xiao Xiao's head as he said,
"Then aren't you courting death by coming out now?"
Xiao Xiao looked at Huo Yuhao and told him,
"I don't want you to die!"
Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Xiao helplessly, but she held out her hand to him and said,
"As things stand, you can't hold out on your own until more help arrives anyway. Let's try that."
Huo Yuhao frowned, then reached out and clasped Xiao Xiao's hand. Taking her with him, he swiftly dodged the Soul Douluo's lunging attack and switched Martial Souls as he leaped aside.
With the Snow Empress's soul inside his Soul Ring sustaining Snow Dance Shining Sun, it did not vanish immediately after he switched Martial Souls. Instead, it could linger for several minutes.
Within those few minutes of restraint, Huo Yuhao tightened his grip on Xiao Xiao's hand and tried to fling her away, only to discover that their Soul Power had truly connected completely.
Xiao Xiao trembled slightly, clearly suffering some side effects from this Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
She also raised her hand, and an emerald-green flute with nine phoenixes circling it appeared in her grasp.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao's Qiongqi Martial Soul burst forth.
Qiongqi's phantom pressed down on the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute. In the next instant, the two of them vanished from where they stood, and a golden pillar of light shot into the sky.
The Soul Douluo cursed under his breath. Damn it. I'd better hurry up and run now. Otherwise, before he gets the chance to wreak havoc on our sect, I'll be off to meet the Holy Emperor myself.
He turned and fled almost without thinking, seeing only a yellow radiance emanating from Qiongqi and the Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute.
The next instant, that golden radiance took on a murky hue, then slammed straight toward the Soul Douluo.
The Soul Douluo instinctively raised a hand to block it, only to see a flash of bloody light as that very hand was severed.
Ignoring the pain, the Soul Douluo stumbled away.
By now, he had been scared completely out of his wits. It never occurred to him that he had suffered this loss only because he had not deployed his full defenses, merely putting up a simple guard.
The actual offensive power of this Soul Skill was only enough to break through a Soul Saint's full defenses. Against a Soul Douluo defending seriously, it could do nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao collapsed limply into Huo Yuhao's arms, and the golden pillar of light dimmed.
"Oh, you!"
Huo Yuhao looked helplessly at Xiao Xiao in his arms, momentarily at a loss for words.
Xiao Xiao smiled at Huo Yuhao and said,
"Brother Yuhao, did you hear the voice coming from our two Martial Souls just now, too?"
Huo Yuhao nodded, then fed Xiao Xiao a Soul Power recovery pill he carried with him and said,
"You think those were auspicious words?"
Xiao Xiao smiled, then stood up on her own and told Huo Yuhao,
"I really like it. It sounds so imposing!"
The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. The instant their Martial Souls fused, a mysterious voice had emerged from Qiongqi, telling them the name of this Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"Ferocious Beast's Awakening, Golden Age's Downfall!"
Judging by its actual effects, however, it clearly brought about the downfall of their opponent's golden age.
Just then, Yan Shaozhe hurried over from Shrek City. Seeing Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao resting against a tree, he immediately descended and asked,
"Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, are you all right?"
Huo Yuhao smiled, his words carrying more than a little sarcasm as he addressed Yan Shaozhe.
"We're fine! Dean Yan, we're fine! My dear Dean Yan! Nothing happened to us at all. We're just playing out here, having a little battle in the wild, right... You could even come tomorrow morning, couldn't you? No rush."
Naturally, Yan Shaozhe could hear the sarcasm in Huo Yuhao's voice. He scratched his head, then feigned solemnity as he said,
"I know you're not in a very good mood right now. Rest assured, the academy will give you a satisfactory explanation!"
Huo Yuhao shrugged, then took Xiao Xiao's hand and said,
"We've pretty much rested enough. We're leaving."
As soon as the two of them passed out of Yan Shaozhe's sight, his expression turned grave. He picked up the severed limb beside him and examined it.
The following morning, quite a few Inner Court disciples headed out, while Shrek Academy also issued a public notice about a severe crackdown on the Evil Soul Master Organization...
Before you continue