After the Match: Questions on the Back Mountain and Huo Wu's Challenge
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Three days after the team finals of the Soul Master Tournament, Nan Feng was practicing his Tower Suppression on the lawn behind the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Soul Power Level 35.
The gap at the third level of the tower was a bit wider than before the semi-finals, indicating that the output of the Power of Creation had increased by 10%.
A blue halo spread out from beneath his feet, covering five steps. Within the halo, the pebbles on the ground sank half an inch, and the grass blades fell close to the ground, all facing outwards.
The Gravity Field pressed down on his shoulders and back, causing the muscles between his shoulder blades to taut outwards. Sweat streamed down Nan Feng's forehead, dripping down his temples, onto his collarbone, and sliding down his chest into his clothes.
He raised his hand and wiped it; his palm was sweaty. He rubbed it against the seam of his pants a couple of times.
He raised his hand and wiped it clean, intending to go through the landing point control of the Tower Suppression again, Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light caught an unusually bright spot of light in the background perception.
The light, a golden-red speck, radiated intense Spiritual Power, rapidly approaching from the direction of the academy's main gate. Its speed was extremely fast, its steps straight, and its target clearly defined.
The point of light paused briefly at the edge of the lawn behind the hill. A golden-red figure darted out from the pine forest.
Huo Wu.
She was dressed in a gold and red outfit, her ponytail tied high, the red ends of her hair looking like a burning fire in the afternoon light.
Her steps were faster and more agile than during the exchange competition. Her Soul Power fluctuations rose from level 31 to level 33, and the fire attribute Spiritual Power of the Blazing Sun Martial Soul circulated faster in her meridians than before.
As the soles of my boots stepped across the lawn, green sap seeped out from where the grass blades were broken.
She rushed to the center of the lawn, paused, and stopped. The soles of her boots left two black marks on the grass.
His golden-red eyes stared straight at Nan Feng, his chest heaving, his breathing still uneven.
Why didn't you go all out in the semifinals?
Huo Wu spoke, her voice lower than usual, but each word was pronounced clearly.
The Nan Feng subsided, and the Tower Suppression of light dissipated. The pebbles on the ground bounced back half an inch from the crater, and a few of the flattened grass blades stood up.
He looked at Huo Wu. Her golden-red ponytail swung behind her head, and stray hairs clung to her flushed cheeks.
On the night of the finals, she sat in the stands of the Blazing Fire Academy and watched the entire match. Afterwards, she waited for a long time outside the rest area. When Nan Feng came out of the rest area, she was already gone; he assumed she had gone back to the Blazing Fire Academy.
Standing before him now, the seriousness in her golden-red eyes was even more intense than when she was fighting.
"I used it," Nan Feng said.
"You hid it."
Huo Wu took two steps forward, standing even closer. Her nose almost touched his chest as she looked up at him, her breath hot against his clothes.
"You hesitated for a moment when you released the Tower Realm. You could have suppressed that Vajra Ape Soul Ancestor for much longer, but you held back."
She paused for a moment.
"And that golden power in your soul, you didn't touch it at all."
Nan Feng looked at her.
Huo Wu's senses were sharper than he had anticipated.
On the night of the finals, separated by half a court, she caught the hesitation in his release of the Tower Realm.
She sensed that Primordial World Imprint deep within her soul, which remained untouched during the battle.
The Blazing Sun Martial Soul is sensitive to both fire-attribute and soul-level energy. Her combat intuition is stronger than most Soul Master of her age.
"I may have a bad temper, but I'm not stupid," Huo Wu said.
A small curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. His defiance and seriousness were twisted together and written all over his face.
"You used seven-tenths of your strength when fighting Yu Tianheng, eight-tenths when fighting Wang Chong, and your full strength when fighting the Vajra Ape."
But something is missing from your strength.
"That golden power within your soul has remained unchanged from beginning to end."
Nan Feng was silent for a moment.
Huo Wu is right. He didn't use the Primordial World Imprint in the semi-finals because his opponent wasn't worth revealing his trump card. Once that aura is revealed, the Spirit Hall people will see it more clearly.
But Huo Wu saw it from the stands.
"That's my last trump card," Nan Feng said.
"I know," Huo Wu said, "That's why you don't need to."
Huo Wu took a step back and tightened her ponytail again. The ends of her hair swayed in the afternoon light.
Her posture changed. Her feet were slightly apart, her center of gravity lowered, her hands were outstretched at her sides, and her fingers were clenched.
The fire-attribute Spiritual Power of the Blazing Sun Martial Soul rose from his palm, condensing into a scorching wave of air.
The firelight danced on her fingertips, illuminating her nails in a deep red.
The blast of air hit, scorching the fabric of Nan Feng's coat and curling the edges of the grass.
"Next time we meet, I want to fight you with all my might. I want to see what's hidden in your soul."
She shifted her golden-red eyes from Nan Feng's face to the outline of the row of short pines at the edge of the lawn.
The afternoon light shone through the pine forest, illuminating her profile and highlighting her features. A few stray hairs fluttered against her cheek.
"And when are you going to deliver on your promise to help me evolve my Martial Soul?"
Nan Feng looked at her.
Huo Wu's Huo Wu Blazing Sun Martial Soul has extremely strong explosive power, but lacks endurance; her meridian walls cannot withstand the impact of high-age Soul Ring. This is the upper limit of the Martial Soul itself.
On the night of the finals, she watched from the stands Nan Feng helped Zhu Zhuqing fuse her bones and detoxify Dugu Yan. She didn't approach, separated by an entire audience, but her senses detected the fluctuations of Spiritual Power.
She was trying to figure out if he could help her.
"When your Soul Power reaches its bottleneck," Nan Feng said.
Huo Wu's lips curved into a smile, deeper and more genuine than before, carrying Huo Wu's unique frankness.
"Okay. I'll wait."
She pulled her hands back, and the scorching heat dissipated into the air.
She turned and walked towards the edge of the lawn. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned her head, and looked back at him.
Her golden-red eyes shone excessively in the afternoon light, her ponytail swung behind her back, and stray hairs clung to her ears.
"Hey--Do you have a girlfriend?"
The Nan Feng choked.
Huo Wu at his expression for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The clear, open laughter echoed across the lawn, startling several birds perched on the low pine branches into flight.
She laughed for several moments before stopping, then turned and walked towards the pine forest. Her golden-red figure flashed among the pines.
She took a few steps and then stopped, turning her head back to look at him one last time, the smile still lingering on her lips.
"Next time we meet—don't hold back." Huo Wu said, "I won't hold back either."
She turned and walked into the depths of the pine forest, her golden-red ponytail swaying twice in the shadows before disappearing.
Nan Feng stood in the middle of the lawn, watching the direction in which her figure disappeared.
Two tracks of trampled grass stretched from his feet all the way to the edge of the pine forest. The smell of crushed pine needles still lingered in the air.
The Old Huai peeked out from the crack at the base of the pagoda, its cloudy eyes filled with amusement.
When this girl asked you if you had a girlfriend, you choked on your words.
You heard me.
"Nonsense, I'm not deaf," Old Huai snorted. "She's much more direct than that girl from the Nine Heart Begonia. Ye Lingling waited for you to speak first; she asked the question herself. The people around you are all more troublesome than the last."
Nan Feng did not respond.
He submerged his consciousness into the space inside the tower.
The doors to the first and second floors were fully opened, and 30% of the patina on the hinges had been removed, revealing the dark gold underneath.
The third door gap was slightly wider than before, and the output of the Power of Creation was ten percent stronger.
Soul Power level 35, 5 levels away from level 40.
Only when the third door is fully opened can the Power of Creation be released, allowing him to help Xiao Wu break through that seal.
Huo Wu's Huo Wu Blazing Sun Martial Soul awaits the breakthrough of his Power of Creation. Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix awaits the development of ice attribute combination skills. Xiao Wu's Third Soul Ring needs to return to the Star Dou Great Forest to condense. Bi Ji waiting in the Lake of Life for him to reach level 40 in Soul Power so he can touch the stone tablet.
He placed his right hand on his chest. The dark black Soul Ring in his palm pulsed along his ribs, echoing the blue light emanating from the crack at the bottom of the tower.
The afternoon in Heaven Dou City was quiet. The shouts of students sparring in the distance drifted from the training grounds, muffled and distant, carried across a grove of trees.
He turned and walked down the mountain, his steps neither fast nor slow, the soles of his boots making a solid sound on the stone path.