Kiting

Bei Bei looked at the confident Xu Sanshi and kept feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Xu Sanshi, how about we make a bet?"

"A bet? What do you want to bet on?"

The Soul Fighting Zone was hexagonal and about as large as Shrek Square. A broad stretch of open ground occupied its center, clearly where the students competed.

Around it rose tier upon tier of seats, enough to accommodate roughly three thousand people at once.

Huo Yuhao looked around and found the first few rows almost completely full. Clearly, everyone had come to watch the excitement. After all, a new student fighting one of the Outer Court Twin Stars was indeed quite a hot topic.

In the distance, Tang Ya waved her arms and shouted without restraint, "Little Yuhao, beat that damned turtle till he splits open!"

Jiang Nannan was sitting beside Tang Ya, her cheeks slightly hot. Her brows were tightly knitted, and her gaze rested on Huo Yuhao, her heart full of worry.

The moment Xu Sanshi stepped onto the stage, he felt several gazes lock firmly onto him. Even the air was thick with killing intent.

What was going on? Had he done that many things to feel guilty about?

Huo Yuhao turned slightly sideways, held his clenched right fist beneath his left palm, and gave a fist-and-palm salute. "Senior, please show me what you've got."

As soon as he finished speaking, two Thousand-Year Soul Rings appeared around Huo Yuhao.

The spectators below froze for a moment at the sight. This new student actually had two Thousand-Year Soul Rings. No wonder he was so confident!

"Wow, what a talented new student! And he's so good-looking, too."

Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao's Soul Ring configuration, stunned as well. She had thought her thousand-year second Soul Ring would be enough to overawe everyone, but she had never expected Huo Yuhao's first Soul Ring to be a thousand-year one.

I'm done for. If I don't start cultivating, I'll be pinned underneath him forever.

"Good. Looks like I don't have to go easy on you!"

Seeing Huo Yuhao instantly attract the entire arena's attention, Xu Sanshi naturally refused to fall behind.

Thud-

An enormous tortoiseshell shield appeared in Xu Sanshi's right hand, followed by three Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, and purple-appearing beside him.

Golden light flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes. Seizing his moment, he dispensed with any back-and-forth and charged straight up to Xu Sanshi.

Xu Sanshi had not expected his opponent to dare come straight at him either. After all, he had the best defense in the outer court. All he needed to do was brace the Xuanming Shield a little, and it would be simp-

Suddenly, Xu Sanshi felt his mind fall into chaos. The figure before him gradually blurred, and dizziness swept through his entire body.

Before Xu Sanshi could react, Huo Yuhao threw a straight punch, knocking him back several meters.

"..."

Silence fell over the arena. After all, to the spectators, Xu Sanshi had simply stood there obediently and let Huo Yuhao punch him.

The next second, a cacophony of shouts erupted.

"Xu Sanshi, what kind of act are you putting on? Even if you're going easy on him, you can't do that!"

The punch had also brought Xu Sanshi back to his senses. Hearing the curses coming from the stands only made his anger flare.

How was he supposed to know what had happened?!

Seeing Huo Yuhao charge at him again, Xu Sanshi immediately unleashed his first Soul Skill, Xuanming Quake, forcibly driving Huo Yuhao away.

But that played right into Huo Yuhao's hands. He leaped backward to avoid the tremors, and at the same time, golden light flashed in his eyes as he unleashed Spirit Shock again.

Realizing it was the same attack as before, Xu Sanshi circulated his Soul Power at full strength to force himself awake, then gathered Soul Power in his hand, ready to strike directly at the charging Huo Yuhao-

Huh? Why hadn't he come over?

With his hand raised, Xu Sanshi stared blankly at Huo Yuhao, who stood motionless in the distance.

"You brat, all you do is use these dirty tricks. Do you dare fight me properly?"

"No."

The corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth lifted. He would never take the bait from words like those. Clash head-on with you? Why should I?

With that, golden light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes again as he continued launching spiritual attacks.

How could Xu Sanshi let Huo Yuhao have his way and keep letting his opponent dictate the pace?

"Third Soul Skill, Xuanming Power."

The muscles all over Xu Sanshi's body swelled, and he charged straight at Huo Yuhao. But once he got close, he discovered that no matter how he attacked, he could not hit his opponent.

Damn it, what the hell was this?! Why was he like a slippery loach?

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness struck. Xu Sanshi found his opponent landing another punch on his shoulder, which instantly went numb. Huo Yuhao also used the momentum to retreat several steps.

"..."

Xu Sanshi was sick to death of this move, but apart from protecting his mind with Soul Power, he had no other options.

He steadied himself and sneered. Come on, then. Let's see whose Soul Power lasts to the end.

And so the spectators witnessed the following scene:

Xu Sanshi charged forward and missed Huo Yuhao with several moves. Huo Yuhao countered with a punch, then swiftly retreated into the distance.

Then, for some unknown reason, Xu Sanshi suddenly channeled his Soul Power and raised his hand, swore a few times, and continued forward.

This repeated over and over, with Huo Yuhao leading Xu Sanshi around the edges of the Soul Fighting Zone, fighting as he strung him along.

"Xu Sanshi, stop throwing the match! He's practically whipping you into a spinning top!"

"My entire fortune!"

"Well done, Huo Yuhao! Keep fighting like that!"

Xu Sanshi felt even worse now. His Soul Power was nearly depleted, yet his opponent was still handling things with such ease. Did that skill not consume Soul Power?

"Keep fighting just like that! With me supplying your Soul Power, let's see who can outlast whom!"

Within the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng watched the scene outside. She, too, grew excited, as though she were fighting in his place.

The Ice Empress looked at Tian Meng, speechless. "Only you could come up with this trick. If Huo Yuhao could use his other Martial Soul right now, this wouldn't have dragged on so long."

Tian Meng glanced at the Ice Empress, who was mocking him, and muttered, "It's not your Martial Soul, either. What are you so smug about..."

"Ah! Bingbing, don't sting me-"

In the arena, a trace of turquoise flashed in the depths of Huo Yuhao's eyes. Looking at the panting Xu Sanshi, he asked, "Senior, do you have any other moves?"

At those words, Xu Sanshi's face alternated between green and white, his pride thoroughly provoked.

"Don't get too arrogant!"

Xu Sanshi gathered the last of his Soul Power, and the tortoiseshell patterns in his hand fully emerged. Then he shot toward Huo Yuhao like an arrow loosed from its bow.

This time, Huo Yuhao did not dodge. He directly channeled his Soul Power to meet the attack.

Boom-

After a shock wave, Xu Sanshi exhausted his Soul Power and sank onto one knee before Huo Yuhao, gasping for breath.

"Senior? It's my turn now."

Xu Sanshi looked at Huo Yuhao, who was still standing tall, his eyes filled with disbelief. Just how on earth had his opponent...

"Hey, can we make peace?"

"At a time like this?! Senior, you're not joking, are you?"

With that, Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows slightly, lifted his fist, and smashed it straight down.

"Go easy! Wait, not the face~"

"I surrender! I surrender!"

The referee teacher was just about to step forward when Xian Lin'er reached out and stopped him.

"Dean Xian, this-"

"It's fine. There aren't any fatal injuries. Xu Sanshi has thick skin; he'll recover in a few days. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

The referee looked at Xu Sanshi, who was still being brutally beaten below the stands, and said helplessly, "Uh... all right."

Xu Sanshi would just have to suffer a little.