Both girls were so stunned by Huo Yuhao's words that they had yet to react.
What a line-if you wanted to deceive others, you had to deceive yourself first.
As long as you fooled even yourself, who could know what trump cards you held?
"So, just tell people about your abilities, keep a few trump cards to yourselves, and bring them out when the time is right. That's all there is to it." Huo Yuhao took a sip of tea.
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao both gave him a thumbs-up. They really could not refute his words, and after turning it over in their minds, it really did seem like a good approach.
Wang Dong'er said, "My Martial Soul is the Light Goddess Butterfly. I can fly, attack at both close and long range, and defend to a certain extent."
Xiao Xiao nodded and said, "My main Martial Soul combines offense and defense. Ramming enemies can stun them, giving me some control capabilities. My Second Martial Soul, the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute, can slow enemies down."
Wang Dong'er glanced at the short sword at Huo Yuhao's waist, somewhat curious. "Yuhao, judging by what you did in the classroom, you do have some offensive capabilities."
Xiao Xiao was curious too, little stars in her eyes as she said, "Yuhao, I'm curious too. I want to see you perform a sword dance."
Huo Yuhao patted the sword at his waist. "You mean this sword?" He drew the short sword, and as he poured Soul Power into it, it instantly became a longsword.
"Then you'd better watch closely," Huo Yuhao said proudly. "I'm the best swordsman in our town."
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao both obligingly nodded, without the slightest doubt about his words.
"These are thirteen sword forms I came up with myself. They don't have names, so let's call them the Thirteen Deadly Swords."
Huo Yuhao brushed lightly over the blade. A dazzling, cold gleam flashed from its surface, and he leaped lightly onto the thin surface of Sea God Lake.
Both feet rested on the water, little ripples forming beneath them and spreading endlessly into the distance.
"These sword forms have no fixed moves. They're only basic sword techniques, something that can be understood but not conveyed in words."
"Thirteen swords begin with the gathered momentum of a thousand blades, set in motion between the fingers!"
Holding the sword in one hand, Huo Yuhao laid the blade horizontally before him. His finger moved, tapping sideways against the guard, and the longsword immediately shifted straight to the right.
Soul Power surged through his hand, and his right hand became countless afterimages as it caught the hilt.
Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao watched intently. This was Huo Yuhao's first time showing them his abilities, and they took it very seriously. Faced with such exquisite sword techniques, they naturally did not dare even blink.
Huo Yuhao flicked his wrist, and the longsword immediately thrust straight out, withdrew in the blink of an eye, and thrust again. Sword afterimages appeared in the air.
As he turned, droplets rose above the water beneath his feet. Huo Yuhao swept his longsword across them, shattering them and sending them scattering back into the lake.
Huo Yuhao shifted his steps lightly, gradually picking up speed. A spray rose beneath his feet, and a pillar of water inexplicably shot into the sky before him.
"The wind is soundless, Qi like still water. Light casts no shadow; the swift sword leaves no trace..."
With a tap of his toes, he sprang into the air. Cold light flashed in his hand as he thrust straight into the pillar of water, then turned his wrist and swept outward, cutting the entire pillar cleanly in two.
Huo Yuhao followed through with an upward flick, and the upper section of the water pillar turned to solid ice, slowly falling from the air.
The instant the ice fell, Huo Yuhao swept his longsword upward and cleaved it in two in midair. He stepped forward with his right foot, drove from his waist, and spun in place. His blade swept across the water's surface, and the water seemed to come alive, winding around the blade in the blink of an eye and flowing ceaselessly.
Seizing the moment, Huo Yuhao swung from the left, cutting the two falling chunks of ice before him into four.
"Grasp its spirit; forget its form."
Huo Yuhao's voice was not loud, yet it echoed endlessly across the vast expanse of Sea God Lake.
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong'er had long since been stunned into open-mouthed disbelief by this display of swordsmanship as they stared at Huo Yuhao in the distance.
His swordsmanship was simply transcendent. He could deliver countless thrusts in the blink of an eye, leaving only sharp flashes of sword light flickering through the air.
Watching this scene and sensing the fierce sword forms in the distance, Wang Dong'er instantly recalled her fight with Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao had been far more casual back then. He had never used any of these lightning-fast sword techniques during their fight.
At that thought, Wang Dong'er could not help flushing bright red. She was certain that even if she activated her Martial Soul, she might still be no match for Huo Yuhao.
Wang Dong'er suspected that if Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul were a sword, the abilities he had displayed might allow him to crush every other new student outright.
Xiao Xiao watched Huo Yuhao's ceaseless sword dance. Every move and every form was full of charm, plucking at her heartstrings.
Amid the flash of blades and the shadows of swords, she saw only the one she loved!
The two watched Huo Yuhao's demonstration in silence. They knew he had revealed another of his trump cards to them.
In their eyes, Huo Yuhao trusted them both to the utmost.
This person was just so sly, always finding his way unnoticed into everyone's hearts and leaving little traces behind.
He really was a fellow whose words belied his heart.
Huo Yuhao's sword dance continued. Before they knew it, his figure spread farther and farther apart, and two indistinct figures slowly separated from him, becoming two shadows that followed his movements.
After a while, the two shadows seemed to have been granted life. Their sword forms turned fierce, and they began exchanging sword moves with Huo Yuhao.
Invisible Sword Qi slammed into the water, sending countless splashes flying, only for the sword light that followed to cut them apart.
The three figures darted and leaped. Huo Yuhao's gaze was indifferent; at this moment, only the sword in his hand remained in his heart. His sword forms were slow, yet they always blocked the shadows' attacks before finding openings to strike back.
The shadows' attacks grew increasingly disordered, and Huo Yuhao saw more and more openings.
Suddenly, an invisible thread seemed to appear before Huo Yuhao's eyes, connecting the two shadows.
The corners of Huo Yuhao's mouth lifted, and he swung his longsword along the thread.
Found it!
In an instant, both shadows were struck at the same time and slowly dissipated into the air.
Huo Yuhao let out a long breath of white mist, twirled his longsword before him, and slid it into its sheath.
Then, with another tap of his toes, he leaped straight back to shore.
In truth, Huo Yuhao knew very well that if he did not show them something today, these two little girls would not let him off.
Fortunately, Shrek Academy was already secretly under Shadow Garden's control.
Having witnessed those sword moves, Wang Dong'er suddenly felt that Huo Yuhao was a little unfamiliar. She soon thought of the scene in the Soul Fighting Arena.
"Yuhao, why didn't you fight back back then in the Soul Fighting Arena?"
Xiao Xiao also remembered what had happened and looked at Huo Yuhao worriedly. She was truly afraid of something like that happening again.
Huo Yuhao pulled Xiao Xiao close, then Wang Dong'er, and explained in a voice both could hear, "Back then, I couldn't draw my sword, nor was I able to."
"Why?!" both girls asked in unison.
"Because the longsword in my hand should be used to protect the people most important to me..."
Soul Power slowly flowed from Huo Yuhao's palm into their Seas of Consciousness, blurring their memories of his sword dance just now.
Good. Absolutely perfect. Amid the shadows, I still have to learn to conceal myself.